India Poll Panel Raise Concerns Over New Finance Norms
(Bloomberg) -- India's new campaign finance rules allowing anonymous donations reduce transparency in political funding, the country's election commission said in a filing at the nation's top court.
The Election Commission of India -- one of the respondents in a case filed against the new funding rules -- said anonymous donations have serious repercussions and impact on the transparency of political funding, according to the document seen by Bloomberg. The court is hearing petitions challenging the introduction of ‘electoral bonds' and seeking a ban on cash donations filed by Association for Democratic Reforms, a non-government organization.
The commission's statement comes weeks ahead of general elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term. Modi came to power in 2014 promising a crackdown on corruption. The election commission's comments and any adverse ruling from the top court may dent the anti-graft credentials of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Election Commission's spokeswoman Sheyphali Sharan did not answer two calls made to her mobile phone.
Read more about the murky world of election finance in India
The changes in law allow anonymous donations through electoral bonds which can be bought at a bank in denominations ranging from 1,000 rupees to 10 million rupees ($14 to $150,000) and given to a political party, which can exchange them for cash. They don't carry the name of the donor and are exempt from tax.
The government has claimed that the changes will cleanse political funding. The move was criticized for allegedly legalizing large anonymous donations that can potentially lead to businesses and foreign companies gaining influence over the elections that start on April 11.
The election commission said the rule allowing political parties to receive donations from foreign companies having majority stake in an Indian company would “allow unchecked foreign funding of political parties in India, which could lead to Indian policies being influenced by foreign companies.”
The top court is scheduled to hear the case on April 2.
To contact the reporter on this story: Upmanyu Trivedi in New Delhi at utrivedi2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Unni Krishnan at ukrishnan2@bloomberg.net, Abhay Singh
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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