New Delhi: National political parties have turned a blind eye to a stipulation by the Election Commission to identify donors who give more than Rs. 20,000 ($333) each, the Association for Democratic Reforms has said.
The parties did not furnish details of 703 donors who donated more than Rs. 20,000 each in the financial year 2012-13, the NGO said. Overall, 3,777 donors gave more than the threshold amount, totaling Rs. 99.14 crore.
“The name and address of a total of 43 donors who contributed Rs. 29 lakh to the national parties is undeclared in the statements submitted by the parties,” ADR said in a report.
It also said the addresses of a total of 655 donors contributing Rs. 10.84 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Nationalist Congress Party were left “undeclared.”
The BJP topped with 1,670 donors who did not declare their PAN numbers. The corporate sector made 72% of the donations, or Rs.70.97 crore.
The Election Commission makes it binding on political parties to submit annual details of donations – name, address, PAN number of the donor, besides the mode and amount of payment – received above Rs. 20,000.
The ADR report is based on tax returns and donation reports of the six national parties submitted in the financial year 2012-13. The Congress Party had the most income, making Rs.425.69 crore. The BJP came second with Rs.324.16 crore.