HVK Archives: BJP to ask sympathisers to reach for their wallets
BJP to ask sympathisers to reach for their wallets - The Economic Times
Posted By Ashok V Chowgule (ashokvc@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in)
26 January 1997
Title : BJP to ask sympathisers to reach for their wallets
Author :
Publication : The Economic Times
Date : January 26, 1997
In an effort to minimise its dependence on corporate houses and interest
groups for funds, the Bharatiya Janata Party is planning to mop up around RS
30 crore through the 'life-long p arty associates fund' for financing its
non-election activities.
The party leadership is expected to place the proposal for the creation of
the fund before its forthcoming national council at Thiruvananthapuram.
The fund collection exercise envisages mopping up yearly donations in
denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 from party sympathisers..
The move forms part of the strategy the BJP has initiated following
allegations of corruption against influential leader as well as
party-controlled state governments.
Although there has been a persistent demand from political parties for
altering tax laws, a lack of clear rules has been prompting them to depend on
corporate donations. In the BJP, the fund collection exercise has been a
subject of controversy with the so-called puritans in its fold accusing their
industry-friendly' colleagues of compromising the party's position for
favouring donors.
The leadership, which is aware that it cannot put the blame for bad publicity
at the doorstep of the leaders who have been authorised to collect funds, is
of the view that the creation of the 'associates fund' would spare it from
criticism both within the party as well as outside it. Party leaders hope
the exercise would loosen the hold of big business houses in the functioning
of the party managers.
As the BJP needs large sums of money for running its establishments,
producing propaganda material, organising rallies and meeting the travel
expenses of its leaders, it has so far been relying on contributions from
'big donors'. "This is sure to cleanse the system. Otherwise every leader
who is associated with the party's fund-raising exercise will be branded a
lobbyist," said a leader about the new proposal.
Strong criticism from within the party some months back over the conduct of
party MPs had prompted Atal Behari Vajpayee to write to them asking them to
desist from taking up issues concerning certain industrial houses.
The party has also suggested ways to institutionalise fund collection for
elections, and is planning to demand amendments in the corporate and the
income-tax laws to make funding for parties more transparent.
This initiative is aimed to put the BJP on a high moral pedestal. With the
tainted Congress(I) leaders telling the courts that the assets seized by the
investigating agencies belong to the party, the debate over political funding
is sure to attract popular attention. BJP managers, political observers
feel, are attempting to make their system at least partly transparent before
being clubbed with other political outfits.
With the Bofors issue, as well as the corruption charges against the Congress
(I) leaders once again forming the nucleus of public debate, the BJP is aware
of the immediate need to refurbish its image. The attack on the Maharashtra
government for patronising extortions and business houses with notorious
reputation has been creating hurdles in its attempts to stall the revival of
the Congress (I) in the state.
The party leadership is worried that the loss of the anti-corruption plank at
this juncture could hurt the BJP the most as in all other spheres, the
Congress (I) is trying hard to be a beneficiary of the discontentment against
UF government at the Centre.
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