Amid the ongoing clean-up exercise to identify unrecognized parties involved in corrupt practices, Election The Commission has made a fresh effort to get the power to deregister political parties. The election law gives the poll panel the power to register a union of people as a political party, but does not give the right to de-register it.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is understood to have emphasized on this power to withdraw the registration of political parties in a recent conversation with the Union Legislative Secretary. The Election Commission was writing to the government to empower the government under the Representation of the People Act to cancel the registration of a political party on certain grounds.
Poll panels believe that many political parties get registered but never contest elections. Such parties are only on paper. The Election Commission (EC) feels that the possibility of forming a political party to take advantage of income tax exemption also cannot be ruled out.
A senior official said that the commission, which has the power to register political parties, also has the power to cancel the registration in appropriate cases. He said that while giving this power to the Election Commission, adequate safeguards could be put in place. Under the Constitution, the Election Commission is required to function independently and ensure free and fair elections. Inquiries into non-compliance with the conditions for the grant of registration may involve the commission in matters of a political nature and may mean monitoring by the commission of political activities, programs and ideologies of political parties. This, feels the Election Commission, is perhaps the reason why it has not been given the power to deregister any political party.
The poll body had recently removed a total of 198 registered unrecognized political parties from its register as they were found non-existent during a verification exercise aimed at cleaning up the system. In a recent statement, the poll panel had said that a reference has also been sent to the revenue department for necessary legal and criminal action against three such parties involved in serious financial irregularities.
A list of Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) who have made their contribution in the financial year hyperlink “Tel: 2017-18″2017-18, hyperlink “Tel:201819″2018-19” and hyperlink “Tel:201920″2019-20” The report was not submitted. It was shared with the Revenue Department for taking all consequential action as per the Representation of the People Act read with the relevant provisions of the IT Act 1961. Another list of 66 RUPPs, which submitted contribution reports as mandated under the law without claiming income tax exemption, has also been shared with the Revenue Department.
There are about 2,800 registered unrecognized political parties in India. In addition, eight parties are recognized as national parties and over 50 recognized as state parties. ,
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