New Delhi:
For the first time, a politician has spoken out to say that elections are financed using black money. Talking to NDTV at the Indian of the Year Awards, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "No legal money finances polls."
"With mutual consent, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections should happen together once in every five years. The tenure should be fixed for five years and there should be an option of state fundings for the elections because when the elections happen, we do need donations for the elections...and who will give these donations...the ones who give, why will they give donations, nobody gives white money for elections...those who give, give it from here and there and without no money, no party can fight in the elections," he said.
The government has recently come under attack from the Supreme Court and the Opposition over the lack of information about black money sent abroad by Indians.
A petition filed in the Supreme Court by a group of people, including former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, has asked that the government be made to recover crores of black money from foreign bank accounts. Mr Jethmalani believes the amount of money adds up to one trillion dollars.
The government has presented to the Supreme Court a list of 26 Indians who hold accounts in the Liechtenstein Bank in Germany. However, it had said that these names cannot be made public because that would violate the terms and conditions of a treaty with Germany. But after the court indicated its deep dissatisfaction with this approach, the Centre assured that it would reveal the names of persons who have stashed black money in foreign banks after a formal case is registered against them.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, appearing before a bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, said the government has issued show cause notices against the persons accused of having black money in foreign banks and once a case is registered against them, their names will be made public.