-The Business Standard Nearly half the 3,337 politicians contesting elections in 5 states have not provided details of their I-T returns With total assets of around Rs 56 crore, Dhanvantri Chandela, fielded by the Congress from the Rajouri Garden constituency, is easily one of the richest among candidates for the Delhi Assembly election. But she neither has a permanent account number (PAN) nor has she reported details of her income-tax returns to...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: As polls to five state assemblies draw near, cash counters in political parties can look forward to a busy period if historical patterns are anything to go by. An analysis of donations shows that national parties typically collect more than 100 crore each during such periods. According to the data from think-tank Association for Democratic Reforms, six parties together received almost 2,500 crore in donations at the time...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With Parliament failing to provide a safety net, political parties now have to comply with the Central Information Commission (CIC) order bringing them under the Right To Information law as not doing so exposes them to the risk of legal action, including summons to party presidents. The commission on July 28 received a complaint of "non-compliance" from activist S C Agrawal who, along with Association...

-DNA With the union cabinet approving a proposal to amend the RTI Act to keep political parties out of its purview, the controversy about six national political parties having been declared "public authorities" by the CIC has taken a rather serious turn. Political parties, acting though Parliament, are on the verge of undoing a law that Parliament itself had given to the nation. The argument that the law should apply to...

-First Post While the six biggest political parties have chosen to ignore the order to come under the Right to Information Act, a handful of regional political parties have embraced it wholeheartedly. However, that won't force the bigger parties to change their ways any time soon. On 3 June, the Central Information Commission (CIC) declared the six national political parties, Congress, BJP, CPI, CPI (M), NCP and BSP, as public authorities. However, the...