Urban Mirror Correspondent
New Delhi, July 4: The Lok Gathbandhan Party (LGP) today demanded total ban on corporate funding from within and outside India to political parties in the country. Referring to the Supreme Court notice to the central government on a PIL challenging the permission to the political parties to receive donation from foreign companies, the LGP said NDA government’s decision allowing foreign funds should be banned, as all types of corporate funding has become big menace in fight against corruption.
The spokesman of the party said here on Wednesday that elimination of corruption and restoration of transparency in country’s political system is unlikely to be achieved without complete ban on political funding by the corporate houses. The NDA government through an amendment in foreign contribution regulation act (FCRA) in the last budget had allowed foreign contribution to political parties. In a case in Delhi High Court in 2014 both the BJP and Congress were accused of taking foreign donation illegally in violation of FCRA law. The government has now changed the law to protect the political parties. The spokesman said that amendment should be declared void and illegal. The spokesman said large number of corporate houses both inside and outside the country have been donating huge funds to parties, especially ruling party to serve their vested interest. The spokesman said this state of affair is not good for honest, transparent and vibrant democracy. The spokesman said the functioning of various trusts constituted by the corporate houses for such funding is also opaque.
The spokesman said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for fight against corruption is meaningless with this prevailing situation in political system. The spokesman reiterating demand for complete ban on political funding said it has also become one of the major sources of converting black money into white. Expressing concern over circulation of huge black money in politics, the spokesman said the system introduced through electoral bonds will also not serve the purpose of transparency and stop inflow of black money in politics. The spokesman said political parties in the country have unfortunately become one of the major conduits of money laundering for which strict legal action is urgently required to clean the system. The spokesman said corporate houses have evolved dubious means for money laundering and tax evasion in which large number of political parties are also playing major role. The spokesman said the LGP, dedicated to honesty and transparency in public life, has been fighting for the eradication of the use of huge money in politics without which the concept of good governance is far-fetched. (Credit: Images Satish Acharya on Twitter and Business Standard)
