The Election Commission needs to ensure that all political parties adhere to transparent funding process while accepting money from donors to fight polls, industry body Assocham said today.

“No level of economic growth can be inclusive unless an opaque system of political funding can be put to an end. India has come a long way on its democratic values but the biggest missing link remains lack of transparency in election funding,” chamber President Rana Kapoor said in a statement.

He said some of the avoidable controversies and allegations by political parties in the midst of elections can be replaced by meaning debates on governance if electoral reforms are carried out to cover the corporate donations, individual contributions to the political parties.

“Besides, the government funding of the polls should also be considered,” he added.

Last year, the chamber has suggested creation of a government fund of Rs 5,000 crore as part funding of candidates spending.

It said the campaign spending should also be subject to the public scrutiny for which the Right to Information Act should be made applicable to political parties.

The industry would welcome such a move as it is likely to relieve it of pressure to fund elections with unaccounted funds, Kapoor said.

He added that transparent funding including revealing source of all donations into a separate election account would also remove public perception that through illegal donations business and political class are promoting a quid pro quo.

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