Press Release
BJP and INC fail to submit Lok Sabha Election Expense Details in
time to the ECI,
Despite ECI Reminders
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National
Congress (INC) are the only two National Parties which have not yet
submitted details of the expenditure incurred by the parties during the
Lok Sabha 2014 elections to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Among the recognised regional parties, only 24 parties out of a total of
49 parties have submitted their Lok Sabha election expenditure
statements at the time of this release.
Supreme Court Judgement regarding submission of Election
Expenditure Statements by Political Parties
The Supreme Court of India, in its judgement of Common Cause Vs. Union
of India, dated 4th April, 1996, had stated “…the
political parties shall submit to the Election Commission, for its
scrutiny, the details of the expenditure incurred or authorized by the
parties in connection with the election of their respective
candidates.” The Supreme Court also stated that the ECI would be
justified in asking political parties to file an account of their
expenditure incurred or authorised by the parties in connection with
the election of its candidates during the course of elections.
Time Period within which Election Expenditure details should be
submitted to the ECI
Hence, the ECI stipulated a time period of 90 days within
which all National and Recognised parties need to submit the
expenditure the parties incurred during Lok Sabha elections. As
the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared on 16th May,
2014, the parties should have filed their expenditure statements on or
before
14th of August 2014.
ECI issues Notices to defaulting Parties
According to a note on
the website of the ECI, as of 8th September, 2014, INC,
BJP and CPI were the three defaulting National Parties along with 46
regional parties which had not filed their statements of election
expenditure to the Commission.
Contents of Expenditure Statement
The expenditure statement contains details of the total amount
received as funds in the form of cash, cheques and demand drafts and the
total amount spent under the following heads at the central, state,
district and constituency levels by the party:
·
Party propaganda
·
Travel expenses
·
Publicity expenses
·
Other expenses
·
Expenses on candidates
Political parties are required to submit these statements providing
information of funds collected and spent between announcement and
completion of elections.
ECI also sent reminders to Parties that defaulted in their
expenditure submission regarding Assembly Elections held earlier
A similar
note* dated 20th May, 2014, available
on the website of the ECI, lists 9 recognised parties (National and
Regional parties) which had defaulted on filing their expenditure
statements during earlier elections, as under:
Name of the defaulting political
party |
Assembly Elections |
Due date for submission of the
election expenditure statement |
AIADMK |
Karnataka Assembly Elections, 2013 |
22-07-2013 |
BJP |
Karnataka Assembly Elections, 2013 |
22-07-2013 |
Chhattisgarh, MP, Mizoram Rajasthan,
Delhi Assembly Elections, 2013 |
24-02-2014 |
CPI |
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura Assembly
Elections, 2013 |
17-05-2013 |
IUML |
Karnataka Assembly Elections, 2013 |
22-07-2013 |
JD(S) |
Karnataka Assembly Elections, 2013 |
22-07-2013 |
NPP |
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura Assembly
Elections, 2013 |
17-05-2013 |
Chhattisgarh, MP, Mizoram Rajasthan,
Delhi Assembly Elections, 2013 |
24-02-2014 |
RJD |
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura Assembly
Elections, 2013 |
17-05-2013 |
UDP |
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura Assembly
Elections, 2013 |
17-05-2013 |
ZNP |
Chhattisgarh, MP, Mizoram Rajasthan,
Delhi Assembly Elections, 2013 |
24-02-2014 |
Source:
Election Commission of India
ECI: Unrecognised parties would be required to submit election
expenses details
For the first time since the above quoted judgement of the Supreme
Court, the ECI has asked the unrecognised parties, which contested in
the Lok Sabha elections, 2014, to file their expenditure statements. Out
of a total of 419 unrecognised parties which contested, 17 parties have
submitted details of expenditure so far.
Recommendations of ADR
While it is crucial for political parties to submit their expenditure
statements for greater financial transparency, it is equally important
to file the same within the time limit set by the ECI and endorsed by
the Supreme Court of India. The National and Regional Parties should,
ideally, lead by example by filing complete and correct statements of
expenditure to the ECI well in time for public scrutiny so as to
encourage financial transparency.
Regards
*http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/mis-Political_Parties/Election_Expenses/ConsolidatedState
mentofDefaulters_18062014.pdf