BJP earned Rs 553 crore income from unknown sources in 2017-18: ADR report
New Delhi, Jan 23 : More than 50 per cent of the funds national parties received during the financial year 2017-18 came from "unknown" sources that included donations through electoral bonds and voluntary contributions, according to election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The ADR Wednesday released the findings of an analysis of six national parties' IT returns and donation statements filed with the Election Commission.
According to it, the total income of BJP, Congress, CPI, BSP, TMC, and NCP in 2017-18 was Rs 1293.05 crore.
The income of these parties from "unknown" sources was Rs 689.44 crore, which is 53 per cent of their total income.
The BJP alone declared Rs 553.38 crore as its income from unknown sources, which is 80 per cent of the total income of the national parties from such sources.
Out of the Rs 689.44 crore, the share from electoral bonds was Rs 215 crore or 31 per cent, the report said.
The parties received Rs 354.22 crore or more than 51 per cent of the fund from unknown sources through voluntary contributions (below Rs 20,000), it said, adding the total income from other miscellaneous unknown sources was Rs 4.5 crore.
Thirty-six per cent of their income or Rs 467.13 crore from "known" donors, whose details were available from contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission.
They got Rs 136.48 crore from other known sources, such as from the sale of assets and publications, membership fees, bank interest, and party levy, the report said.
According to donation reports (containing details of donations above Rs 20,000), only Rs 16.80 lakh was given in cash to the national parties.
The CPI(M), which is also a national party, was not included in the analysis as its "schedules or annexures were unavailable for the financial year 2017-18".
At present, political parties are not required to declare the names of individuals and organisations giving less than Rs. 20,000 nor of those who donate via electoral bonds.
While the national parties were brought under the Right to Information Act by the CIC ruling in June 2013, they have still not complied with the decision.
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Hit by car, delivery agent dies after falling from flyover in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A food delivery agent died after falling from the Dabri flyover in southwest Delhi when his scooter was allegedly hit by a car on Thursday morning, police said.
The car driver fled from the spot, police said.
A PCR call was received at 7:35 am informing that a person had fallen from the Dabri flyover on Pankha road and required immediate medical assistance, they said.
A police team rushed to the spot and found a damaged scooter and a car on the flyover. The scooter rider sustained serious injuries and was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital in an ambulance, where doctors declared him dead, they added.
According to police, the victim was identified as Rajkumar, a resident of Jharkhand's Godda district. He was working as a delivery executive with a private food delivery service in Delhi.
The car involved in the accident bears a Delhi registration number and is registered in the name of a Dabri resident, police said.
"The body has been preserved in a mortuary and efforts are underway to apprehend the absconding driver," a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the accident, police said.
