Will 100% tax exemption on corporate donations to political parties encourage the nexus between corporate interests and political parties? Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s announcement of the same has sparked off a debate in political circles.
The first to literally raise the red flag was the Left Front. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury termed the exemption as a dangerous trend which could become the fountainhead of political corruption. “This move will completely legalise corporate funding of political parties. The government must find alternative ways of encouraging public funding of elections,” he said. The Congress, however, staunchly defended the exemption terming it a historical initiative.
“The move aims at changing the mindset of the people regarding political parties and corporate bodies,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. “It is a clear incentive for upfront payments and is intended to be a measure which will lead to a clean-up of political account keeping. This is something which should appeal to all parties,” he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the exemption.
“We welcome this step as it will lead to more transparency in funding and may be, lead to our long-standing demand of public funding of elections,” said Sushma Swaraj, the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
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