EC seeks limits around cash donations to political parties; writes to law ministry

The Election Commission has proposed bringing down anonymous political donations from ₹20,000 to ₹2,000 and cap cash donations at 20 per cent or at a maximum of ₹20 crore to cleanse election funding of black money, sources said on Monday.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has written a letter to Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju recommending a slew of amendments in the Representation of the People (RP) Act, sources in the government said.

The proposals are aimed at ushering in reforms and transparency in donations received by political parties, and also the expenditure incurred by candidates trying their luck at the hustings, they said.

The move comes in the backdrop of the poll panel recently delisting 284 defaulting and non-compliant registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs), declaring more than 253 of them inactive.

The Income-tax department recently raided a number of such entities across the country on charges of tax evasion after the EC shared its report with its administrative authority, the CBDT.