TNN

Jaisalmer, Apr 3: Jaswant Singh may be a seasoned politician and a former solider, but the ex-Union minister didn't show any signs of his toughness when facing allegations that he breached the model code by giving money to a voter at an election meeting.

Singh broke down when he was asked about the issue now with the Election Commission. "Helping a poor in need is no publicity stunt,'' he said on Thursday.

"During the public meeting, a widow came to me pleading for help saying that it was difficult for her to sustain the livelihood of a blind mother and a brother who suffers from leprosy. She asked if a temple could be built in the village, she could give her family a decent living from the collections at the temple,'' he explained.

Moved by the plight of the widow, says the former external affairs ministers, he handed over his colleague Kailash Meghwal Rs 10,000 for the widow. Singh maintains that he hasn't broken any code of conduct, as neither he's a contestant nor the contestant. His son Manvendra Singh, who was present at the meeting, is the Lok Sabha candidate of BJP from Barmer.

The EC is to take a decision on Monday whether Singh broke the model code.