RTI: Political parties are asked to disclose IT returns

Politicians are in it for power and money.

Political parties thrive on funds accounted and slush. Since there is no accounting to any one execpt the part boss crores are collected before, during and after elections by party men on behalf of the political parties.

It is well known in political circles that of the amounts ‘collected’ over 50% is siphoned off by the collectors themselves.

Of the balance amounts are distributed according to clout for supporting candidates during elections.

Will the recent RTI norms make a difference? It is to be seen. We can expect all political parties to fight against this ruling.

Remember the LOKPAL bill which would have brought about some modicum of integrity in the political parties is in abeyance since nearly four decades.

Declaration of assets by candidates standing for election has been brought about only through sustained campaigning by some civil society organisations and considerable support from the Supreme court.

Is there any party free from this malaise?

Are there any snow flakes in hell?

Political parties are asked to disclose IT returns

Ever since it came into effect, the Right to Information (RTI) Act has forced the Indian state, notorious for its stonewalling ways, to open up. Now political parties are facing the heat. In a recent order, the Central Information Commission (CIC), which oversees RTI, has declared all political parties should disclose their income tax returns. The reason given by the CIC is that information on the funding of parties is a “democratic imperative and is in public interest”. We agree entirely.
In the US, for instance, the Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory body, keeps records of campaign finance and enforces laws on the limits and prohibitions on contributions. Anyone can log on to their website and access the latest campaign finance information on presidential candidates or on those running for other offices. One can also find out the names of individual or corporate fund givers, how much they have donated and to whom. Though this is by no means foolproof — slush funds do find their way to election candidates — it is a remarkably transparent system.
The Indian electoral system, by contrast, is opaque and the funding of political parties and candidates has largely been unregulated. This has meant that a huge amount of black money has made its way to parties and their leaders. As a result, potentially good candidates, who don’t have financial muscle, have been effectively kept out of the electoral arena.

It’s only a couple of years back that things changed for the better with candidates contesting Parliament and state assembly elections having to reveal their financial worth and criminal background when filing their nominations.

This happened after a PIL was filed in the courts seeking disclosure of an election candidate’s background. Candidates also have to maintain an account of campaign expenses, stick to a maximum limit and file a return of expenses.

However, we still have little idea of the amount and sources of contributions to parties and their leaders. We are saddled with a situation where leaders such as Mayawati have amassed vast fortunes, claiming that they have been showered with “gifts” from their supporters. And that has been accepted by the income tax authorities.

Disclosure of tax returns could be a first step towards making political parties a little more transparent. Unsurprisingly, parties have come out against efforts to reveal their IT returns. They must agree to reveal their sources of funds for public scrutiny. For, murkiness in campaign finance is at the root of much corruption.

 

‘Saas-bahu’ puts Kerala left govt in a spot

Ananthakrishnan G | TNN

Thiruvananthapuram: This ‘saasbahu’ saga is for real and has put Kerala’s Left government in a spot, inviting charges of promoting nepotism and also raising questions about CPM’s stand on ethics in public life.
    At the centre of the storm is Kerala health minister P K Sreemathi, who has inducted her daughter-inlaw Dhanya M Nair into her personal staff. This was revealed by the general administration department on an RTI query seeking details of Sreemathi’s personal staff. The request was filed by AIADMK state secretary Sreenivasan Venugopal.
    In reply, Venugopal got a list of 22 names including Dhanya, who is married to Sreemathi’s son. She had joined the staff as a clerk and was only recently promoted to the post of additional personal assistant. Her salary works out to around Rs 1 7 , 0 0 0 . D h a nya would also be eligible for pension once she completes 2 years in her post.
    Ve n u – g o p a l p o i n t e d out that Dhanya was not even in the office of personal staff but was conveniently placed in the minister’s bungalow.
    Taunting CPM leaders, who a week ago had surprised industry captains by coming down harshly on ‘nokukooli’ — a term for money demanded by labourers attached to the party’s trade union without doing any work, Venugopal wondered if the present controversy did not convey a similar situation.
    Sreemathi’s office has, however, defended the appointment and denied any impropriety. ‘‘Twenty-seven people can be appointed in the minister’s personal staff — 24 in office and 3 in the house. Unlike the office, those at home need to be more reliable and that is why Dhanya was chosen. In the past too, ministers have done this and there was no impropriety,’’ said the official statement from her office, which also said that this was a ‘‘needless controversy’’.
    LDF convener Vaikom Viswan of the CPM also saw no impropriety in it.
    But the opposition Congress disagrees. ‘‘There is no practice of appointing family members in the personal staff of ministers. It raises questions of ethics and morality in public life. The minister should accept her mistake and take corrective measures instead of defending it,’’ state Congress spokesperson M M Hassan said.