The black money in politics works like a glue that holds the corruption edifice together. In this context, what measures would you suggest to cleanse the political finance in the country? Discuss.

The measures needed to cleanse political finance in India are as follows-
First and foremost, the government must take the initiative to end cash donations to political parties.
Secondly, the political parties as of now do not face any necessity to disclose the sources of contributions below Rs 20,000. In this regard, Election Commission of India (ECI) proposal that the Representation of the People Act (RPA) be amended in order to include declarations of donations above Rs 2,000 is a welcome move. It must be initiated at the earliest to curb the menace.
Thirdly, for scrutinising the account books of the parties, a CA is sufficient to do the task currently. However, in 2014, the ECI alongwith Institute of Chartered Accountants of India created guidelines for the maintenance of party accounts. What is needed in this regard is that, guidelines must be made mandatory and enforced by a third-party auditor. Further, much more empowering step in this regard would be that the government should amend Section 29A of the RPA to explicitly empower the ECI to deregister parties that flout the new regime.
Lastly, Amend Section 125A of the RPA to enact severe penalties on those who provide false disclosures at the time of their nominations.

These measure will definitely be a positive step in order to cleanse the Indian polity from black money pervading in and will ‘purify’ our political parties.

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