ECI seeks restrictions on cash donations to political parties
HY News
20 September, 2022 01:31 pm IST
Text Size:
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has written a letter to the law ministry to cap the cash donations to political parties. In his letter to Union law Minister Kiren Rijiju, CEC proposed limiting cash donation to 20 per cent or at Rs 20 crore, whichever is lower.
National Public broadcaster AIR reported that the ECI has proposed to decrease the limit of anonymous political donations from 20 thousand rupees to two thousand rupees and sought to restrict cash donations at 20 percent or at maximum of 20 crore rupees out of the total funds received by a party.
The proposals are aimed at ushering in reforms and transparency in donations received by political parties, and also the expenditure incurred by candidates trying their luck at the hustings, they said.
As per rules in force currently, political parties have to disclose all donations above ₹20,000 through their contribution report that is submitted to the EC. If the EC’s proposal is approved by the Law Ministry, all donations above ₹2,000 shall be reported, thereby enhancing transparency in funding, sources said.
The EC also wants every candidate to open a separate bank account for election purposes, route all expenses and receipts through this account, and furnish these details in their account of election expenditure.
The EC has also sought “electoral reforms” to ensure that no foreign donations creep into the funds of the parties as stipulated under the RP Act and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010.
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!
Subscribe our newsletter to stay updated
Leave Comments