[Marxistindia] On Party Income

Sat Aug 11 15:17:41 IST 2012

August 11, 2012

Press Release

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) wishes to clarify the nature and details of its income in the background of the mischievous report that appeared in The Times of India on August 10, 2012 that the CPI(M) is one of the biggest beneficiaries of corporate donations and that it keeps the identities of its  donors a secret. 

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been  submitting its audited statement of accounts regularly every year before the Income Tax Department and Election Commission. It has also been submitting the names of all donors who donated more than Rs. 20,000 as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act and People’s Representation Act.  A consolidated statement of income of the Party for the years from 2005 to 2011 submitted before the Income Tax Department and Election Commission is given here below.  This includes the income of the Central Committee and all the state units.

(Amounts in Rupees)

      Income
     2005
     2006
     2007
     2008
     2009
     2010
     2011
     Total 

      Levy paid by Party members
     127720740
     167701194
     160404680
     301416982
     252214511
     271224625
     387272611
     1667955343

      Voluntary contribution
     128931429
     178976403
     249015606
     203414928
     250710410
     404198336
     241417472
     1656664584

      Interest
     21453497
     19215801
     28290181
     26419659
     57409516
     39021468
     42216359
     234026481

      Miscellaneous income
     3674689
     16627005
     18660359
     12704012
     16504690
     12319914
     7067477
     87558146

      Election fund
     115416591
     31286222
     165044452
     42764928
     43474816

     85491751
     483478760

      Membership fees paid by Party members
     1582830
     2177514
     12602861
     1907628
     3142128
     2003320
     2234832
     25651113

      Publication

     8114494
     4779619
     3915165

     16809278

      Increase in stock (Publication)

     252485
     107914
     132713

     493112

      Total
     398779776
     415984139
     634018139
     596995116
     628343604
     732815541
     765700502
     4172636817

Total income of the Party from 2005 to 2011

(seven years)                          :           Rs. 417,26,36,817

Levy income from Party members                          :           Rs. 166,79,55,343 (39.97%)

Membership fees                                                      :           Rs. 2,56,51,113 (0.64%)

Voluntary contribution (donations)                         :           Rs. 165,66,64,584 (39.7%)

Election fund                                                             :           Rs. 48,34,78,760 (11.59%)

Miscellaneous income                                             :           Rs. 8,75,58,146 (2.1%)

Interest on deposits                                                   :           Rs. 23,40,26,481 (5.61%)

Publication                                                                 :           Rs. 1,68,09,278 (0.4%)

Increase in stock (Publication)                                :           Rs. 4,93,112 (0.01%)

Total amount of income from 

Donations above Rs. 20,000                                    :           Rs. 3,35,96,941 (0.81%)

Total amount of income from 

Donations from companies and societies               :           Rs. 1,45,31,914 (0.35%)

As per the  provisions of Constitution of the CPI(M), every member of the Party has to pay a portion of their income as levy as prescribed by the Central Committee and has to pay Rs. 2 every year as membership fee to the Party.  The income statement of the Party shows that 39.97 per cent of the total income of the Party is levy collection and 0.64 per cent of the income is membership fees  from the members of the Party. The income from MPs and former MPs to the Party Central Committee in the year 2011 is Rs. 1,36,58,156.  

Out of the total income of Rs. 417,26,36,817 of the Party for a period of seven years, donations above Rs. 20,000 from all sources, including individuals, companies, societies etc is only Rs. 3,35,96,941. All donations from companies and societies is Rs. 1,45,31,914  and its percentage to the total income is only 0.35.  This is what The Times of India report maliciously states as “CPI(M) coffers bulge with capitalist cash”.  

The CPI(M) does not accept donations from corporates. However, there have been contributions from some companies in Andhra Pradesh.  These donations, when it came to the notice of the Polit Bureau last year, was discussed and it was decided not to accept donations from companies, however small. 

The Times of India report alleges that the Party is keeping its donors’ identity a secret.  As per the provisions of law, the Party is legally bound to disclose the names of all donors who donated above Rs. 20,000.  As stated above, the Party has submitted before the Income Tax Department and Election Commission the names and other details of all donors who donated amounts above Rs. 20,000. The Party has not concealed the name of any donor, either company or individual who donated more than Rs. 20,000 to the Party. But majority of the donors of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) are from the  poorer sections of the people and  who donate only small amounts and far below Rs. 20,000. Most of the fund of the Party is collected at ward, village, taluk and district levels.   The Party committees at these levels keep the records of receipts and send the names of the donors whose donations are above Rs. 20,000 to the Party Central Committee.  The Party has nothing to hide  about the details of its income or about the list of donors.  The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has decided to  publish the details of its income, the list of donors who donated above Rs. 20,000 including the names of individuals, companies, societies etc. and other details in its website.  

eom 