EC to examine bank accounts of all political parties post-note recall
NEW DELHI: A complaint against the Mayawati-led BSP to the Election Commission is set to open up the accounts of all political parties which deposited piles of cash in party accounts after the demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016.
As per EC's 2014 transparency guidelines for all political parties contesting elections, any amount of money received in cash has to be duly accounted for in its account books and deposited in the party's bank account within a week of receipt.
However, post-note ban, such deposits were made much later and right through November 2016 by some political parties. A writ petition was even filed against the BSP in the Allahabad High Court on this issue.
The EC issued a notice in March to BSP following the complaint that the party had deposited over Rs 100 crore cash into its accounts for many days after the demonetisation announcement by the government. BSP, while admitting that such deposits indeed were made, claimed that everything was done legally.
The Mayawati-led party, in its response to EC, had also raised the question why such an inquiry into deposits made by other parties was not being initiated. ET has learnt that the EC has now decided to examine the issue threadbare and seek details of deposits made into accounts of political parties after November 8, 2016.
The larger question, however, is how to deal with a problem, and possible violation, which EC hadn't dealt with in the past. Sources told ET that the EC will examine this issue comprehensively to assess how much jurisdiction it has legally on something of this nature and whether there is a penal provision under various laws to act on this offence.
If the EC finds that as per laws, it does have jurisdiction to rule over such a violation, it will be deliberated what course of action should be adopted by the Commission.
While BSP complained that the party has been singled out and blamed its political rivals for the witch-hunt, EC appears to have found sufficient merit in the BSP argument that similar deposits may have been made into the accounts of other political parties too.
As per EC's 2014 transparency guidelines for all political parties contesting elections, any amount of money received in cash has to be duly accounted for in its account books and deposited in the party's bank account within a week of receipt.
However, post-note ban, such deposits were made much later and right through November 2016 by some political parties. A writ petition was even filed against the BSP in the Allahabad High Court on this issue.
The EC issued a notice in March to BSP following the complaint that the party had deposited over Rs 100 crore cash into its accounts for many days after the demonetisation announcement by the government. BSP, while admitting that such deposits indeed were made, claimed that everything was done legally.
The Mayawati-led party, in its response to EC, had also raised the question why such an inquiry into deposits made by other parties was not being initiated. ET has learnt that the EC has now decided to examine the issue threadbare and seek details of deposits made into accounts of political parties after November 8, 2016.
The larger question, however, is how to deal with a problem, and possible violation, which EC hadn't dealt with in the past. Sources told ET that the EC will examine this issue comprehensively to assess how much jurisdiction it has legally on something of this nature and whether there is a penal provision under various laws to act on this offence.
If the EC finds that as per laws, it does have jurisdiction to rule over such a violation, it will be deliberated what course of action should be adopted by the Commission.
While BSP complained that the party has been singled out and blamed its political rivals for the witch-hunt, EC appears to have found sufficient merit in the BSP argument that similar deposits may have been made into the accounts of other political parties too.