Electoral reforms: CEC Rajiv Kumar proposes lowering anonymous political donations to cleanse poll funding

New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar wrote a letter to Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju to cap the cash donations to political parties. The CEC has proposed to bring down anonymous political donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000 to cleanse election funding through black money. The poll panel has written a letter to the Union Law Ministry recommending various amendments in the Representation of the People Act, according to sources.

Sources told IANS that the CEC has proposed lowering the threshold limit for cash donations made to political parties from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000. In case the proposal gets approved, all donations above Rs 2,000 will be part of the contribution report which is submitted to the Commission. There are a few political parties which have shown contributions above Rs 20,000 as nil, while their audited accounts statement showed receipt of huge amounts - all less than the limit of Rs 20,000.

The Election Commission has also proposed to limit cash donations at 20 per cent or at a maximum of Rs 20 crore to cleanse election funding of black money, said the sources, adding that the proposed amendments will also lead to maintaining a separate account for receipt and payments related to elections by the candidate and the same has to be transparently disclosed to authorities as election expenditure.

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The Commission reportedly wants that every candidate to open a separate bank account for poll purposes which will have all the details related to all expenses and receipts as part of the election expenditure. The electoral reforms proposed by the Election Commission also include the segregation of foreign funds from the funds of the parties for more transparency into funding to political parties.

The development comes in the backdrop of the poll panel recently delisting 284 defaulting and non-compliant registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs), declaring more than 253 of them inactive. Earlier this month, the income tax department also conducted raids in multiple states as part of a pan-India tax evasion probe against certain registered unrecognised political parties and their alleged dubious financial transactions.

The activities have been taken by the department on a recent recommendation of the Election Commission which recently struck off at least 198 entities from its list of RUPP after they were found non-existent during physical verification. The poll panel had announced that it was taking action against more than 2,100 entities, categorised as RUPP by it, for flouting rules and election laws, including those related to the filing of monetary contributions, failing to update their address and names of office bearers. 

(With ANI/IANS Inputs)