Left parties on Thursday condemned the Centre’s proposal to relax conditions for contributions made by corporate entities to political parties.
The parties accused the Narendra Modi government of creating “new avenues for large-scale money laundering” while claiming to be fighting corruption in public life.
“The Modi government has indulged in the height of duplicity to hoodwink the people of this country with its loud pronouncements to cleanse corruption, particularly in the electoral process,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.
It said this was clear from the amendment slipped into the provisions of the Finance Bill, 2017, where the “limit of 7.5 per cent of net profit of the last three financial years” and “the requirements of a company to disclose the name of the political parties to which a contribution has been made” has been deleted.
The Companies Act as amended now allows corporates to pay political parties an unlimited amount through the Election Bonds Scheme without disclosing the beneficiary’s name, the CPI-M pointed out.
“This government has not only widened the process of corporate funding to political parties but has also created new avenues for large-scale money laundering,” it stressed.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) said the Centre’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would be the biggest beneficiary of the relaxations and demanded a rollback of the amendment.
“No doubt, BJP will be the biggest beneficiary of the amendment. Even foreign companies can donate huge funds to parties and this will act as a severe threat to our national security,” the Communist Party of India (CPI) said.
“The Modi government and the RSS always speak of transparency in dealings, and posed as the champions of fighting against black money. But the cat is now out of the bag. Now that the Upper House does not have powers to reject the Money Bill, it becomes law automatically,” it said.
While the CPI demanded a rollback of the amendment, the CPI-M urged all political parties, social movements and individuals to unitedly oppose “these moves which allow new obnoxious levels of political corruption”.
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