Account holders whose names feature among those who have stashed black money in tax havens were regular contributors to political parties. This is the allegation as per the information released by association for democratic reforms(ADR), a body that works towards better democracy. It has released names along with the money contributed to prominent national parties as per the details given to the election commission.
As per the information provided, Radha Timblo and Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhia, funded both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC). BJP was funded nine times and twice the amount given to the Congress. Timblo is in the mining business in Goa, and Lodhia is a bullion trader from Rajkot. Both their names were provided by the government to the supreme court.
Timblo donated Rs 1.18 crore between 2004 and 2012 to the BJP, while Lodhia contributed Rs 51,000 to the ruling party. The former also gave Rs 65 lakh to the Congress. The money was channeled from Timblo Pvt Ltd, whose managing director is Radha. Pan card details have not been provided.
"This press release shows that amongst all the donors to political parties there are also people who have apparently money stashed money abroad, seemingly illegally. Only those names can be revealed against whom investigations are going on. It (giving money) may not be illegal but it raises doubt that if parties take money from (people with) such background then will it dilute their determination to take action against them. We are looking at greater transparency. Doubt can be removed only if the giver and taker reveal all about the transaction. Getting additional information is not easy. We expect parties to be more transparent. The purpose is to show that strange things are happening in the arena of political funding," said Jagdish Chhokar, founder member of ADR.
The press release by ADR also gave details of electoral trusts. Money was given by 13 electoral trusts of which seven came up after rules were formed. Six that were present before the rules were in place have not provided information as per ADR
"We procured the details from the submissions political parties made to the election commission. Nobody knows where the money is coming from in these electoral trusts. We have demanded that this information too should be provided," said Anil Verma, head of ADR.
