It is not acceptable for political parties to say 80-85% of their funding is coming from people contributing sums of up to Rs 20,000. It can be understood some funding (for political parties) has come from small donors or has been raised at jan sabhas but not the lion’s share. The Rs 20,000 limit should be brought down to Rs 2,000 or even Rs 1,000,” said a source.
“Parties have hundreds of crores in their funds and should invest in going for computerisation for all their donations, including small sums. Why should they not have systems in place to record where every penny they get is coming from?” the source added.
The panel on December 3 issued a detailed compendium on proposed electoral reforms. Electoral funding remains one of the major causes of big ticket corruption in India. “If every housewife is being asked to account for every Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 note she has, and small traders and shopkeepers are asked to declare their entire sale by going cashless, it is not fair to let political parties continue with their opaque ways,” the source said.
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(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:m.dailyhunt.in)
