According to poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), national parties collected Rs 3,377.41 crore from undisclosed sources in the financial year 2019-20, which was 70.98 per cent of the total income of these parties. In a new report, the ADR said the BJP declared Rs 2,642.63 crore as income from undisclosed sources, the highest among national parties, including the Congress, NCP, CPI, CPI(M), TMC and BSP. Huh.

“During the financial year 2019-20, the BJP declared an income of Rs 2,642.63 crore from unknown sources, which is 78.24 per cent of the total income of national parties from unknown sources (Rs 3,377.41 crore),” the report said. The ADR said the Congress declared an income of Rs 526 crore from unknown sources, which is 15.57 per cent of the total income of national parties from unknown sources.

“National parties collected Rs 3,377.41 crore from unknown sources in the financial year 2019-20, which is 70.98 per cent of the total income of the parties. Out of Rs 3,377.41 crore as income from unknown sources, the share of income from electoral bonds was Rs 2,993.826 crore or 88.643 per cent,” the report said. Between 2004-05 and 2019-20, national parties collected Rs 14,651.53 crore from unknown sources.

According to the donation report, Rs 3.18 lakh in cash was received by national parties, containing details of donations of more than Rs 20,000 for the financial year 2019-20. The election rights body also said that the combined income of Congress and NCP from sale of coupons between the financial years 2004-05 and 2019-20 is Rs 4,096.725 crore.

Undisclosed source income is the income declared in the tax return but without giving the source of income for charity less than Rs.20,000. Such undisclosed sources include ‘donations through electoral bonds’, ‘sale of coupons’, ‘relief funds’, ‘miscellaneous income’, ‘voluntary contributions’, ‘contributions from meetings/fronts’. The details of donors such as voluntary contributions are not available in the public domain.

The ADR recommended that financial documents submitted by political parties should be scrutinized annually by a body approved by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Election Commission of India in order to increase transparency and accountability of political parties in relation to their funding . The ADR said that national and regional political parties should provide all information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

“It will only strengthen political parties, elections and democracy. However, RTI or not, political parties should voluntarily account for every rupee that they receive or spend, the election rights body recommended.