New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar wrote a letter to Union Legislation Minister Kiren Rijiju to cap the money donations to political events. The CEC has proposed to carry down nameless political donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000 to cleanse election funding by black cash. The ballot panel has written a letter to the Union Legislation Ministry recommending varied amendments within the Illustration of the Individuals Act, in accordance with sources.
Sources advised IANS that the CEC has proposed reducing the brink restrict for money donations made to political events from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000. In case the proposal will get authorised, all donations above Rs 2,000 can be a part of the contribution report which is submitted to the Fee. There are a number of political events which have proven contributions above Rs 20,000 as nil, whereas their audited accounts assertion confirmed receipt of big quantities – all lower than the restrict of Rs 20,000.
The Election Fee has additionally proposed to restrict money donations at 20 per cent or at a most of Rs 20 crore to cleanse election funding of black cash, stated the sources, including that the proposed amendments may also result in sustaining a separate account for receipt and funds associated to elections by the candidate and the identical needs to be transparently disclosed to authorities as election expenditure.
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The Fee reportedly desires that each candidate to open a separate checking account for ballot functions which may have all the small print associated to all bills and receipts as a part of the election expenditure. The electoral reforms proposed by the Election Fee additionally embrace the segregation of overseas funds from the funds of the events for extra transparency into funding to political events.
The event comes within the backdrop of the ballot panel lately delisting 284 defaulting and non-compliant registered unrecognised political events (RUPPs), declaring greater than 253 of them inactive. Earlier this month, the earnings tax division additionally carried out raids in a number of states as a part of a pan-India tax evasion probe towards sure registered unrecognised political events and their alleged doubtful monetary transactions.
The actions have been taken by the division on a latest advice of the Election Fee which lately struck off at the least 198 entities from its checklist of RUPP after they have been discovered non-existent throughout bodily verification. The ballot panel had introduced that it was taking motion towards greater than 2,100 entities, categorised as RUPP by it, for flouting guidelines and election legal guidelines, together with these associated to the submitting of financial contributions, failing to replace their deal with and names of workplace bearers.
(With ANI/IANS Inputs)
