BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday rejected as ablsolute lie the claims of Manipur activists Irom Sharmila that the saffron party had offered her Rs 36 crore to contest the state assembly elections against Chief Minister Ibobi Singh.

In an interview to NDTV recently, Sharmila had said that the BJP had approached her to contest against Singh and had offered Rs 36 crore.

“I was approached by the BJP to fight on their ticket in this election. Their suggestion was that to fight Ibobi, I will need 36 crores. If I have it, I should produce it, if not the centre would sanction it. On that condition, I said I will stand for elections as an independent. I don’t criticise other political parties. I just want to bring a change in the society. I want to bring the right to justice to all and ensure that the draconian AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) is withdrawn,” said Sharmila in the interview.

Reacting to Sharmila’s claim, Madhav said that his party’s entire election campaign does not cost as much as claimed by Sharmila. “Absolute lie. Our entire election campaign in MANIPUR doesn’t cost that much. She should find respectable ways of fighting elections,” tweeted Madhav.

Sharmila, however, is contest the state elections Ibobi Singh from Thoubal constituency in the Assembly elections to be held on February 15. Known for her fight against Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Sharmila is a political greenhorn while Congress has been in power in Manipur for three successive terms under Ibobi Singh.

Congress on February 3 had released a list of 60 candidates for Manipur Assembly elections, with Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh contesting Thoubal seat.

In August last year, the 44-year-old Iron Lady broke her 16-year-old hunger strike, the world’s longest such campaign, and declared that she wants to become the chief minister so that she could press for repeal of the contentious AFSPA.

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