Aam Aadmi Party sets bar high, lays bare its fund detailsIn its first declaration to the Election Commission (EC) on donations received, the Aam Aadmi Party has raised the transparency benchmark for political parties and has declared donations it received from abroad as well.The AAP revealed that it got money from Indians living abroad in the US, UK, Singapore and even Romania. Most donations from foreign banks were of Rs. 50,000 or less.EC regulations prohibit parties from getting funds from foreign sources but the AAP said the donations did not violate EC rules as the money was given by non-resident Indians and not foreigners.In a rare move for a political party, the AAP did not accept any donations above Rs. 20,000 in cash.Donations above Rs. 20,000 made to the AAP were through cheque or electronic transfer and in most cases the PAN number of the donor was also provided. Unlike other parties, the AAP provided complete details of the donors and the mode of the donations.Bagam Lalitha of Khammam, Andhra Pradesh, Kunal RS Bajaj of Mumbai and Rajnish Verma donated Rs. 1 lakh each to the AAP.Among the non-resident Indian donators were Mayurnath Konadondla of the US, Hema Dadhwal of Singapore and Sudeep Thakur of Romania.Political parties are required to submit details yearly of donations received in excess of Rs. 20,000 to the EC. The AAP registered with the panel on March 21, 2013 and submitted its donation details recently.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 09:44:10 +0000