Reacting to the Election Commission’s show-cause notice to it regarding donations, the AAP on Tuesday said the observations showed bias against the party.
The EC said the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) had informed it of “concealment” of donations received in 2014-2015 by the AAP. The EC asked the AAP to respond to the notice within 20 days. Responding to the allegations of discrepancies, AAP national treasurer and Rajya Sabha MP N.D. Gupta said, “This notice is based on poor interpretation of basic accounting practices by the CBDT.”
He added that the AAP’s contribution report for 2014-2015 filed with the EC showed donations of ₹37,60,62,631. “Earlier, the details of multiple receipt from same donor were disclosed in the contribution report. However, later when asked about the total number of times each donor had contributed, it was explained to the Income Tax Department also,” he said.
Mr. Gupta said the EC’s notice included an incorrect amount of donations. “The EC has copy-pasted and referred to the grossly incorrect and biased observations of the I-T Department in its notice. Even bank transfers between different State units of the AAP have been treated as fresh donations. Such observations show deep-rooted bias of the statutory authority against a law-abiding political party,” he said.
He added that the AAP had explained the “so-called ‘difference of ₹13 crore’ as alleged by the CBDT”, and the appeal was pending. “We will also explain each and every detail to the EC. We firmly believe that we can be harassed by the agencies, but ultimately the truth will triumph,” he said.
