On multiple occasions, the Election Commission has written to the Law Ministry to amend the election law to give it the power to de-register political parties for committing financial and other irregularities, writes Rakesh K Singh
The coordinated searches at 110 locations across the county by the Income Tax Department on September 7 as part of a pan-India tax evasion probe against certain registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs), think tank Centre for Policy Research, and global NGO Oxfam, has raked up a major controversy.
The raid also covered the Bengaluru-based Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF). The organization funds several digital media outlets such as The Caravan, The Print, and Swarajya.
As of September 2021, there were 2,796 registered unrecognized political parties, an increase of over 300 percent since 2001. Many RUPPs do not comply with the statutory requirements. Their combined claim of Income Tax exemption is estimated to be in the range of Rs 100 crore to 608 crores.
The number of RUPPs saw a 300 percent increase in the last two decades with most of them coming into existence just before Lok Sabha or Assembly elections.
Stating that it is placing the facts in the public domain so that the citizens know the affairs of the political parties, the EC said in 2019 that of the 2,354 RUPPs only 623 contested elections even as 87 RUPPs were found to be non-existent on the ground.
The mega clean-up action was conducted by the IT-Department at 110 locations in Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and some other States following prodding from the Election Commission
However, the critics say that the searches at the RUPPs and the NGOs do not portend well for a healthy democracy. “It's absolutely atrocious that research & advocacy organisations, and independent charitable trusts like CPR, Oxfam, and IPSMF have been raided "at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh , adding, "It's a deliberate move to exterminate all independent media and voices!"
Countering the Congress, officials said that by collecting donations and not furnishing the accounts to the relevant authorities, the RUPPs pose a threat not only to the political system in general but also play a dubious role in fomenting trouble to the socio-political environment as well as compromise national security interests by playing it the hands of international donors who could be acting in line with their own vested agenda of foreign governments.
Besides the RUPPs and the NGOs, the I-T Department team also searched the premises of certain dubious individuals like a lawyer in the Mayur Vihar area of the national capital, as part of the synchronized pan-India raids.
The Income Tax Department is also investigating some other instances of political funding through alleged illegal means like hawala and illegal grants from international donors who are not supposed to fund political activities as per the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The surprise move by the Department came on a recommendation of the Election Commission (EC), which recently struck off at least 198 entities from its list of RUPP after they were found non-existent during physical verification.
The poll panel had announced that it was taking action against more than 2,100 entities, categorized as RUPP by it, for flouting rules and election laws like filing of monetary contributions and failing to update their address and names of office bearers.
The EC had said some of these parties were indulging in “serious” financial impropriety. The poll panel acted after chief electoral officers (CEOs) of States reported that these RUPP either were “non-existent” on verification or the letters issued by authorities to verify their addresses and communication details had been returned as undelivered by the department of posts.
Subsequently, the election body decided to withdraw various benefits accorded to these parties under the Symbols Order (1968), including the allocation of common election symbols.
Earlier, the EC had struck off 87 entities from its list of RUPP after they were found non-existent during physical verification.
The poll panel had noted that 87 RUPPs had failed to update their address of communication as mandated by law as also year-wise annual audited accounts, contribution reports, expenditure reports, and updated list of office-bearers.
In a statement in June, the EC had said any party aggrieved by the EC's action can approach the Chief Electoral Officer concerned for redress with "evidence of existence".
If these 87 RUPPs fail to take remedial steps, they render themselves liable to be "not entitled to have benefits under the Symbols Order, 1968, including allocation of common symbols."
The panel had specific details of such parties, available publicly, that have flouted laws and rules on disclosure of funds and donations.
Later, the EC also sent a reference to the Department of Revenue, under the Union finance ministry, for necessary legal and criminal action against three such parties involved in serious financial impropriety.
The Department of Revenue subsequently sent this report to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body of the Income Tax Department.
According to official data, there are nearly 2,800 registered unrecognized political parties in India, and the EC had been pushing the Government to allow it to de-register many of them.
On multiple occasions, the poll panel has written to the Law Ministry to amend the election law to give it the power to de-register so that it can deter the parties that indulge in financial and other irregularities.
The RUPPs across India have been availing tax relief without properly sharing their audit and contribution reports.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has been spearheading the cleanup drive against such political entities.’
In the case of the think tank Centre for Policy Research, charity organization Oxfam India, and Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation, the IT officials studied the balance sheets of these organizations and matched these with the receipt of funds through the FCRA route. All NGOs getting foreign funds must be registered under the FCRA.
Registrations of as many as 1,900 NGOs have been canceled by the Union Home Ministry for violating various provisions of the law in the last five years.
There were 22,762 FCRA-registered organizations till December 2021. The CPR is known for critical examination of government policies and the IPSMF funds several media organisations, many of which conduct investigative stories that question the governments of the day.
The website of Oxfam India, which is part of a global consortium of NGOs under the Oxfam umbrella, says it “campaigns with the public to demand policy changes from governments for creating a just and inclusive country as envisioned in the Indian Constitution”.
However, Intelligence agencies have flagged concerns about several foreign NGOs indulging in anti-government activities as also pitching against the development push to retard the country’s economic growth trajectory.
These NGOs pump millions of dollars as a charity under a jealously guarded web of deception to mask real motives.
“Accumulated evidence, painstaking examination of the background and intelligence reports on funding patterns show Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) turning into sleeper cells—working and plotting against the government—in potential collusion with the foreign powers,” reveals a classified Intelligence dossier.
The dossier has flagged the tricky roles played by voluntary organizations such as IKV Pax Christi (Netherlands), Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), and Compassion International (USA) in taking circuitous route for funding local NGOs in a bid to create and run sleeper cells for the future onslaught against the government.
(The writer is Special Correspondent, The Pioneer)
