As per the law, political parties are supposed to declare a list of their political donors. However, as per the latest report, political parties continue to enjoy donations without providing their names or addresses, reports Vicky Nanjappa
Donations to political parties are vital for their survival. However, it is a known secret that political donations in India have always remained murky and lacked transparency. A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that 703 donors making a contribution of Rs 11.14 crore in 2012-13 have not been declared, as required by the law.
As per Section 29C of the Representation of People Act, 1951 political parties are required to submit contribution details received in excess of Rs 20,000 from any person or a company.
The report reveals that political parties received Rs 991.2 crore in 2012-13 with the Congress receiving maximum donations, amounting to Rs 425.69 crore. The Bharatiya Janata Party came in next with donations amounting to Rs 324.16 crore.
The Bahujan Samaj Party received Rs 87.63 crore in donations, the Nationalist Congress Party received Rs 26.56 crore while the Communist Party of India received 1.07 crore.
The report further states that Torrent Power Ltd was the Congress party’s biggest donor, giving them Rs 3.5 crore, followed by Torrent Pharmaceuticals donating Rs 1.5 crore and Hyderabad Industries Limited paying Rs 50 lakh.
For the BJP, the Aditya Birla Group was its biggest donor offering Rs 7.5 crore, followed by Lodha Dwellers Private Limited with Rs 6.99 crore.
The CPI received Rs 4.2 lakh from organisations such as Bhartiya Khet Mazdoor Union.
In addition to this, the report further added that the names and addresses of 43 donors contributing Rs 29 lakh were undeclared. Thus, these donations could not be traced to any individual, organisation or trust.
Similarly, the addresses of a total of 655 donors contributing Rs 10.84 crore to the national parties have been left undeclared in the statements submitted by the parties.
A total of 2,371 out of 3775 donors contributing Rs 37.64 crore had not declared their PAN details in the contribution form.
