Thiruvananthapuram: War within Congress over operational fund collection. The Rs 137 challenge announced on the occasion of the 137th foundation day of the Congress is now a headache for the Congress. The challenge project, which started on December 28 and was announced to end on Republic Day, has been extended to March 12, the anniversary of Dandi Yatra, and then to April 30. KPCC had proposed payment of Rs 137 or multiples thereof. But due to insufficient planning, the project failed to reach the bottom. After this, fund collection became a headache for KPCC when a section criticized it by raising the allegation of fund embezzlement.
A QR code was also given to the bank account to collect the funds, but the scheme did not spread to the grassroots unless the leaders paid. Following this, the Rs 137 challenge was extended till April 30. KPCC thought to collect 50 crores. But the leadership does not have a clear understanding of how much money has been collected so far. The reality is that the KPCC president has no account of how much money he got.
After the regular fund collection, it is customary to present the figures at the KPCC officers’ meeting and the executive. But in the case of the Rs 137 challenge, that has not happened yet. The issue is set to be raised in an upcoming meeting of group leaders. Apart from digital payment facility, coupons were also printed and distributed. But now it is being alleged that all the money collected digitally did not reach KPCC’s account.
KPCC treasurer Prathapchandra was in charge of fund collection. That is why the tip of the accusations is also against Pratap Chandran. The reason why the matter came out was that the issues which had been simmering for some time came to public discussion and controversy. Even when the allegations were made, only how much money was received in the challenge that ended on April 30 has not been disclosed. As the money sent digitally is paid directly by the individual, party subordinates do not have a clear understanding of how much has been paid. The counter-argument is that this is the reason for disputes.