NEW DELHI: Political parties in India avoid naming sources of a majority
of donations they receive by resorting to a legal provision that
mandates declaration of contributions only above Rs 20,000, a study
shows.
The country's biggest political party, Congress, for instance, named donors of just 11.89% of its total income of Rs 2,008 crore between 2004-05 and 2010-11. BJP declared the names of donors who contributed 22.76% of the Rs 994 crore collected by the party over the seven years. SP declared just 4.48% of its income of Rs 279 crore through donations above Rs 20,000 while the figure was even lower for CPM, at 1.29% of its income of Rs 417 crore, and none for BSP, which declared that it did not receive any donation of more than Rs 20,000 for its total income of Rs 484 crore.
In contrast, the TRS named the donors of 99.98% of its income for 2009-10 and 2010-11, while the Janata Dal (United) declared the source of 95.96% of its income and the Lok Janshakti Party did so for 89.88% of its income during the period.
Non-government organisations Association of Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, which released their findings on Monday, analysed the donations received by six national parties and 36 regional parties across nine states. The ADR filed applications under the RTI Act with the EC and the incometax authorities to obtain the figures.
"Donations and voluntary contributions seem to be one of the major sources of income for most of the political parties," said Prof Jagdeep S Chhokar, a founder member of ADR, adding, "there should be more transparency in the functioning of electoral trusts run by corporates and political parties must be declared as public authorities."
Experts say the figures compiled by NGOs, which have been working for the cause of political transparency, belie the actual expenditure incurred by the parties during elections. Political parties are required to submit details of donations of over Rs 20,000 to the EC, as per Section 29-C of the Representation of People Act, to avail of tax relief under the Income-Tax Act and Companies' Act.
The top five parties in the country, according to the total income, are Congress, BJP, BSP, CPM and SP. Prominent donors to Congress include Torrent Power (Rs 14.15 crore), Bharti Electoral Trust of Airtel (Rs 11 crore), Tata's Electoral Trust (Rs 9 crore), Sterlite Industries (Rs 6 crore), ITC (Rs 5 crore), Adani Enterprises, Jindal Steel and Videocon Appliances.
BJP has declared donors, including the electoral trusts set up by corporate houses to channel donations to political parties. While Aditya Birla Group's General Electoral Trust donated Rs 26 crore, Torrent Power contributed Rs 13 crore to the party.
The country's biggest political party, Congress, for instance, named donors of just 11.89% of its total income of Rs 2,008 crore between 2004-05 and 2010-11. BJP declared the names of donors who contributed 22.76% of the Rs 994 crore collected by the party over the seven years. SP declared just 4.48% of its income of Rs 279 crore through donations above Rs 20,000 while the figure was even lower for CPM, at 1.29% of its income of Rs 417 crore, and none for BSP, which declared that it did not receive any donation of more than Rs 20,000 for its total income of Rs 484 crore.
In contrast, the TRS named the donors of 99.98% of its income for 2009-10 and 2010-11, while the Janata Dal (United) declared the source of 95.96% of its income and the Lok Janshakti Party did so for 89.88% of its income during the period.
Non-government organisations Association of Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, which released their findings on Monday, analysed the donations received by six national parties and 36 regional parties across nine states. The ADR filed applications under the RTI Act with the EC and the incometax authorities to obtain the figures.
"Donations and voluntary contributions seem to be one of the major sources of income for most of the political parties," said Prof Jagdeep S Chhokar, a founder member of ADR, adding, "there should be more transparency in the functioning of electoral trusts run by corporates and political parties must be declared as public authorities."
Experts say the figures compiled by NGOs, which have been working for the cause of political transparency, belie the actual expenditure incurred by the parties during elections. Political parties are required to submit details of donations of over Rs 20,000 to the EC, as per Section 29-C of the Representation of People Act, to avail of tax relief under the Income-Tax Act and Companies' Act.
The top five parties in the country, according to the total income, are Congress, BJP, BSP, CPM and SP. Prominent donors to Congress include Torrent Power (Rs 14.15 crore), Bharti Electoral Trust of Airtel (Rs 11 crore), Tata's Electoral Trust (Rs 9 crore), Sterlite Industries (Rs 6 crore), ITC (Rs 5 crore), Adani Enterprises, Jindal Steel and Videocon Appliances.
BJP has declared donors, including the electoral trusts set up by corporate houses to channel donations to political parties. While Aditya Birla Group's General Electoral Trust donated Rs 26 crore, Torrent Power contributed Rs 13 crore to the party.
No comments:
Post a Comment