New Delhi: After coming under scrutiny for taking Rs 25 crore from DMK during the Lok Sabha elections, Left parties have now said it is not “unethical” to accept a donation from a “friendly party”.
Speaking to ThePrint, CPI general secretary D. Raja justified the donation from DMK ahead of this year’s general elections, saying the party was “anchoring the alliance in Tamil Nadu”.
“The money was used for election campaigning across the state and not just the constituencies we contested on,” said Raja.
The DMK led the secular alliance in Tamil Nadu. While the Left parties contested from two constituencies each in the state, DMK fought from 21. The remaining 14 seats went to the five other alliance partners, including Congress.
S. Ramachandran Pillai, a politburo member of CPI(M), also added that there was nothing “shady” about the transaction. “We have done nothing to conceal the transaction.”
“Our Tamil Nadu unit accepted the money and it’s all in the public domain. It was from a friendly party for overall election activities,” Pillai told ThePrint.
The two Left parties have been called out for being in an ethically grey zone, especially considering DMK’s pro-capitalist stance which is at odds with the former’s pro-worker outlook.
However, a source in the CPI told ThePrint that the transaction in Tamil Nadu was not out of the ordinary.
“This is not the first time an alliance partner has given money to a party… It’s just that earlier the transactions happened in cash, so there was no record. Now everything happens via cheque,” said the source.
“Why not ask the BJP how much money they gave Shiv Sena?” he asked.
Left didn’t declare details
According to DMK’s election affidavit filed last month, it donated Rs 15 crore to the CPI and Rs 10 crore to the CPI(M).
The Left parties have come under the scanner because they failed to mention these donations in their declarations.
However, Pillai said CPI(M) would file an affidavit with the Income Tax department in due course of time, detailing how the money was utilised.
“We have filed a consolidated statement as of now… The detailed one will be filed to the I-T department,” said Pillai.
Raja held a similar position. “They (DMK) are a regional party… We will have to collect information from all over the country before we file our affidavits.”