Archives for 2019

N The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has amassed over Rs 553 crore as income from unknown sources in 2017-18, which is 80 percent of total such income and four times the aggregate declared by the five other national parties.

According to a report by election watchdog the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released on Wednesday, a total of Rs 689.44 crore was declared as income from unknown sources by the national parties, of which the BJP pocketed Rs 553.38 crore.

Unknown sources are income declared in the IT returns but without giving source of income for donations below Rs 20,000. 

Such unknown sources include donations via Electoral Bonds, sale of coupons, relief fund, miscellaneous income, voluntary contributions, contribution from meetings/morchas. The details of donors of such voluntary contributions are not available in the public domain.

“At present, political parties are not required to reveal the name of individuals or organisations giving less than Rs 20,000 nor those who donated via Electoral Bonds. As a result, more than 50 per cent of the funds cannot be traced and are from ‘unknown’ sources. While the national political parties were brought under the RTI Act by the CIC ruling in June 2013, they have still not complied with the decision,” the ADR said in the report.

As per the report, the total income of six national political parties barring the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in 2017-18 stood at Rs 1,293.05 crore.

While their total income from known donors was Rs 467.13 crore or 36 per cent of the total income, their income from other known sources (sale of assets, membership fees, bank interest, sale of publications, party levy) was Rs 136.48 crore or 11 per cent of total income.

The total income of political parties from unknown sources (income specified in the IT Returns whose sources are unknown) was Rs 689.44 crore, which is 53 per cent of the total income of the parties.

Of Rs 689.44 crore as income from unknown sources, share of income from Electoral Bonds was Rs 215 crore or 31 per cent.

The BJP also got over 93 per cent of donations of above Rs 20,000 received by national political parties, during 2017-18, pocketing Rs 437.04 crore of the total Rs 469.89 crore donated by corporates and individuals.

Of the total donations, the BJP got the lion’s share with 2,977 donations followed by the Congress which has declared receiving Rs 26.658 crore

In the last 14 years (2004-05 to 2017-18), the national parties have collected Rs 8,721.14 crore from unknown sources. 

Currently, there are seven national parties – the BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist and All India Trinamool Congress.

NEW DELHI: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was on Wednesday appointed AICC general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East by her brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi, the party said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia was appointed AICC general secretary for UP West, a party spokesperson said.

The party also replaced Ashok Gehlot as AICC general secretary Organisation with K C Venugopal.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad was appointed AICC general secretary in charge of Haryana, the party said.

Priyanka Gandhi will take over as AICC general secretary for UP East in the first week of February, the party said.

Agencies

Nasheman News : Ahead of Republic Day celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated three new museums inside the Red Fort compound commemorating the nation’s freedom struggle, including one on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army (INA).

The first museum showcases artefacts related to Bose and the INA, including a wooden chair and sword used by Netaji, medals, badges, uniforms and more. The INA trials were held in the Red Fort. 

Modi also unveiled the ‘Yaad-e-Jallian’ museum that will take the visitors through the bloody massacre of the Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. It will also showcase the heroism, valour and sacrifices made by Indian soldiers during World War-1. 

The third museum is dedicated to the historical narrative of the 1857 War of Independence, showcasing the valour and sacrifices made by Indians in the first war of independence against the British. 

The museums have been designed to provide an immersive experience to visitors with photographs, paintings, newspaper clippings, ancient public records, audio and video clips, animation and multimedia.

Nasheman News :  The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday demanded that in view of the latest charges against the electronic voting machines (EVMs) by a hacker in London, the old, tried and tested ballot papers should be used again in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The party has also exhorted all opposition parties to boycott the polls if their demand was not paid heed to.

Rajya Sabha member of AAP and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Sanjay Singh told IANS that this was necessary to “save democracy and install faith of the people once again in the election process”. 

The national spokesman of the AAP further said that the latest revelations clearly shrouded the neutrality of the EVM’s and hence should be replaced with ballot papers.

“These EVM’s show the benefit of EVM’s going to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and takes away from the opposition a level playing field” he said further. 

Chief spokesman of the party’s state unit, Vaibhav Maheshwari while claiming that the Election Commission was not ready to concede that the EVM’s were open for tampering demanded that the poll panel ensure a “public audit” of the EVM’s.

Raising doubts on the fairies of the EVM’s, the party has demanded that all political parties should write to the Election Commission of India, saying that they will boycott the elections for the Lok Sabha if the EVM’s were used for the polls. 

“There is no other option but to ban the EVM’s and conduct the Lok Sabha and all future elections through ballot paper method” Sanjay Singh said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday had spoken on similar lines and had cited the example of a “developed nation like Japan” which still used the traditional ballot paper method for elections in their country. 

“In view of the recent revelations, further doubts have been created in the minds of people and the EC should taken them into account” the former UP chief minister has said.

The ruling BJP leaders, both in the state and the centre, have trashed the accusations made by the opposition parties and have claimed that by raising doubts on the EVM’s, the opposition was making ground for an almost certain defeat at the hustings in the Lok Sabha 2019 polls.