Political Diary

New Delhi, 6 February 2015

Political Funds

ALL HUSH-HUSH ABOUT SLUSH

By Poonam I Kaushish

Phew! Finally D-Day dawns as Delhi results are declared, ringing the curtain down on a ubiquitous Kafkaesque campaign characterized by surreal distortions on caste, gotra, creed, funding accusations, financial skullduggery even below-the-belt personal attacks on anything and everything et al with the devil taking the hindmost!

All hell broke lose when a break-away offshoot of the Aam Aadmi Party, AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM) accused AAP of money laundering and receiving Rs 50 lakh each from four “bogus” companies. Predictably, the Saffron Sangh and Congress pounced on this calling it “hawala at midnight.” No matter the AAP website showed these transactions.

Underscoring once again, money makes the clogged, polluted and corrupt electoral mare go around, and how! Notably, even as the BJP and Congress cry foul about AAP, both are mum on their Party’s funding. Given that 75 per cent of Saffron Sangh funds come from unknown sources.

Between 2004-5 and 2011, the BJP received Rs 952.5 crore from unknown sources and the then ruling Party Sonia’s Grand Dame garnered Rs 1,951 crore in its electoral war chest.

The real question is not about a couple of crore rupees that AAP has received, but the hundreds of crores that the BJP and the Congress receive from unknown sources. Will the BJP and Congress have the moral courage to at least copy the AAP template on donations? Till then, there is no point speaking down from the pulpit.

Most scandalously, presently Parties only report contributions above Rs 20,000 to the EC under law. No one knows where almost Rs 3675 crores came from. Think, between 2004-05 and 2011-12 a whopping total of Rs 4899 crores was the income of six national Parties. But less than a quarter of this money is accounted for.

Believe it or not, only 11.89 per cent of Congress’s total funding of Rs 774 crore and 22.76 per cent of BJP income in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 of Rs 426 crore came from donations above Rs 20,000, according to reports submitted to the EC.

The BSP which got donations of Rs. 99 crore between 2009- 2011, stated that it received zero donations over Rs.20,000. Even the CPI (M) which claims to be morally on a higher plank than these Parties claimed that just 1.29 percent of the money it made in donations in 2009-10 was in excess of Rs 20,000 each.

Moreover, following the Supreme Court's 1996 order that Parties identify and acknowledge corporate donations in their accounts book, both Congress and BJP averred that they would prefer contributions from companies by cheques. However the obverse holds true. In 2004 Congress requests to 25 top industrial houses asking for donations to fight the Lok Sabha election met with a lukewarm response.

Donations for 2003-04 also show how the fortunes of the ruling Party differ from the one out of power. While the Congress ‘officially’ received just Rs 2.81 crore, the BJP managed over Rs 11.69 crore. Money was paid through little-known trusts, or in some cases, directly by the business groups.

Arguably why should anyone put his money on a politician or Party? Are the donations altruistic? Are the according to a preference for Parties and their ideologies? Certainly not, but purely a business proposition, a simple quid pro quo.

The person helps a Party with funds and, in return, gets his job done. It is not for nothing that businessmen are known as king-makers and the power behind the throne. Specially, a handful of top industrial houses which boast about their clout in the corridors of power – political insurance.

And how does one explain the phenomenon of the donation cup over flowing whenever a Party is in power, at the Centre or States? Interestingly, affidavits filed with the Election Commission reveal bizarre realities: Of significant contributions from corporates which have benefited from the Party in power.

A metal and mineral baron who funded the BJP in 2000 became the proud owner of 51% of PSU Balco. Another industrialist paid Rs 50 lakhs to the Congress in 2003 and within months was inducted into the Party. However, in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll he was one of the highest donors to the BJP even though he contested on Congress ticket and won. Truly playing both ends against the middle.

Other instances, a steel magnate paid Rs 50 crores to the Congress and was rewarded with highway construction contracts, ditto the case with a Delhi builder who funded the BJP. What to speak of a spike in inward remittance to Parties through sham foreign investments.

Pertinently, in yet another indication of opacity in political funding, only one of the seven electoral trusts formed after January 2013 has submitted details of its donors to the Election Commission despite Government guidelines requiring them to do so annually. So much for stopping generation and use of black money and getting Parties to submit their audited accounts regularly!

Alas, abuse of money power has become the bane of India’s electoral polities thereby bringing the much-hyped and promised transparency to naught. Think. Parties spend huge amounts for elections but the economics of running an election campaign are a hush-hush affair. Primarily, as elections are to amass wealth for their Parties, themselves and future elections. 

Like politics, elections are a business and like businessmen, politicians balk at the idea of controls and regulations. That is why no Party, however vocal in opposition, has made a sincere attempt at stanching the flow of black money into the electoral arena. BJP President Amit Shah confessed that Modi’s grandiose promise of getting back “black money” was only a “jumla” and unrealistic. Sic.

Worse, there is brazen hypocrisy and humbug in what transpires under rules. Today, a candidate spends over Rs 25 and Rs 10 crore per Lok Sabha and Assembly election respectively instead of Rs 70 and Rs 28 lakhs allowed by Law. Obviously, all unaccounted cash in keeping with India’s parallel economy.

True, every Government has tried to bring legislation to regulate Party funds, spending and getting them to maintain regular accounts and make audited accounts available for inspection. It even held out threats of de-recognition if Parties filed false election returns. But nothing worked. Even as poll costs continue to increase.

The way out? Donations must be made public as the aam aadmi has the right to know whether a Party’s stand on a policy is influenced by the source of its funding. Towards that end, there must be compulsory social audit of political funding by the EC or auditors shortlisted by the CAG.

Alongside, donations could be spread out in proportion to seats, State funding of elections, amount be released to candidates on basis of votes secured by them in election and 50% fund  released as advance before election on basis of previous performance.

In sum, given that Parties function as private limited companies, each with its own secret war chests, the time has come for all to be publicly transparent about their financing. Else Messers Modi and Rahul and their ilk tall talk of eradicating political ghooskhori is just empty talk. What gives?  ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)