Goa-based miner Timblo Pvt Ltd donated nine times to the election fund of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and thrice to the Congress between 2004-05 and 2011-12, according to an analysis by the National Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms.
The Centre on Monday filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court disclosing the names of people who have allegedly stashed black money abroad. These include Radha S Timblo, managing director of Timblo Pvt Ltd. Timblo Pvt Ltd donated Rs 1.18 crore in nine instances to the election fund of BJP and Rs 65 lakh on three occasions to the Congress. The BJP's donations report for 2011-12 also lists Chamanbhai Lodhiya from Rajkot, another person named in the black money list, having gifted Rs 51,000 to the party.
The ADR said there were a total of 13 electoral trusts in the country and only seven of them had been approved by the Central Board of Direct Taxes because they were formed after rules were notified on January 31, 2013. These seven trusts are required to submit details of their donations to the Election Commission.
The remaining six trusts that are not required file reports to the Election Commission donated over Rs 105 crore to national parties between 2004-05 and 2011-12 but details of these donations are not known. "Details of donors of Rs 105 crore gifted to political parties by the six electoral trusts should also be disclosed," the ADR said.
"Is it their case that political parties should stop accepting funds? How are political parties supposed to function in the absence of state funding?," asked BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli. Kohli said BJP, in the forefront to the fight against black money, had no reason to feel unsettled. "Democratic reforms are desirable but politics of insinuation is not going to strengthen democracy in any way. It only helps in stalling things and achieves nothing," Kohli said.
Jagdeep Chhokar, founder of ADR, said the outfit was merely demanding greater transparency. "Why is it that the political parties are feeling unsettled? Do they have something to hide?," he asked.
