New Delhi: The Central Government, today, filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court disclosing the names of three persons who have allegedly stashed black money abroad thus evading tax. These include Goa miner Radha S Timblo, former Dabur executive Pradip Burman and Rajkot based bullion trader, Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhia.
However, the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), in its stunning revelation claimed that an accused Timblo Private Limited had donated huge amounts of money to the BJP and the Congress.
The ADR report claims that Timblo Pvt Ltd had donated nine times to the BJP amounting to a total of Rs 1.18 crore and thrice to Congress, amounting to a total of Rs 65 lakh in seven years. The report has been made by an analysis of the donations made by individuals and corporates to the national parties between Fiscal Year 2004-05 and 2011-12.
Also, the BJP’s donations report for the FY 2011-12 lists the name of Chamanbhai Lodhiya from Rajkot who had donated a total of Rs 51 thousand to the party. Details of all donations made by Timblo Pvt Ltd and its representatives are listed below:
Donations to BJP
Donations to Indian National Congress
The report claimed that there are a total of 13 Electoral Trusts, only seven of which have been approved by the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes (CBDT) because they were formed after the CBDT rules governing Electoral Trusts were notified on the 31st January, 2013. The remaining six Electoral Trusts were already in existence before the CBDT rules for such Trusts were notified.
The seven Electoral Trusts formed after the CBDT rules came into effect are required to submit details of their donations to the ECI. The remaining six formed before the CBDT rules came into existence are not required to do so under the current dispensation. These six Electoral Trusts have donated more than Rs 105 crores to national parties between 2004-05 and 2011-12. Details of these donations are not known.
Since details of donors who made contributions to these six Electoral Trusts which were in existence before the CBDT rules are not known, it cannot be verified whether the funding of political parties through Electoral Trusts was not only a means of getting tax exemption but also a means to convert black money stashed in tax havens to white money in India.
Therefore details of donors of Rs 105 crores donated to political parties by the six Electoral Trusts which were formed before the CBDT rules came into existence, should also be disclosed. These Trusts include General Electoral Trust, Electoral Trust, Harmony Electoral Trust, Corporate Electoral Trust, Bharti Electoral Trust and Satya Electoral Trust.
