The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday welcomed the move of the Election Commission (EC) to write to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to delist 200-odd political parties and said electoral reform is mandatory for the nation.
"I always welcome this kind of step. The way political parties spend so much of money in election should be stopped, and for the benefit of the nation, electoral reform is mandatory," BJP leader and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh told ANI.
Singh also said that the Election Commission (EC) should probe the flow of money in these parties and whether they involve corruption.
The Election Commission will write to the CBDT informing it about the decision to delist 200-odd political parties which exist only on paper.
Sources said the Election Commission suspects that most of these political parties could be money-laundering operations.
Also Read
The commission has the power to register a political party, but there is no guideline to allow it to de-register any party that has been recognised.
The Election Commission has written to several governments in the past, requesting for power to deregister "non-serious" political parties.
However, nothing has been done in this regard yet.
Under existing law, various political parties are expected to file their Income-Tax returns containing details of donors, who have made contributions above Rs. 20,000.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
