AAP denies reports on irregularities in donations

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday denied a media report alleging mismatch in the party's actual and reported donations to the Election Commission.

According to the report, Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) has "flagged an alleged mismatch...pointing out that it was in violation of the Representation of the People Act".

"This report has no basis in fact or reality. The reason there is a discrepancy at the end of the Centre's agencies is that their calculations have taken place at different points in time," party's newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP N.D. Gupta told media here.

"On the party's end, every single donation coming to party has been accounted for. The facts of this case are being purposefully twisted and misrepresented."

Noting that Section 138 of the Income Tax prohibits sharing of disclosure of information, he said: "Sharing of information to the media by CBDT is in itself a violation of the law."

AAP National Secretary Pankaj Gupta added: "On the one hand, the central government is talking about making political funding transparent, while at the same time it is working to give statutory validation to electoral bonds which will help keep source of political funding a secret.

"The source of funding received by political parties through electoral bonds will be accessible to the nationalised banks, the RBI and the government.

"The ruling party therefore will be able to harass donors of Opposition parties with this information," he said.

--IANS

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