This refers to the article, “Next surgical strike on the politics of money” (January 3) by A Surya Prakash. The writer has underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on the need to tackle the important issue of political funding in the wake of demonetisation. It is common knowledge that black money is at the heart of electoral campaigns. It is time that steps are undertaken by the Election Commission of India, with the help of the Government, to stamp out this menace.
The extent of the problem was revealed when it was recently reported that a major political party deposited over Rs100 crore of banned old high value notes in its bank account after November 9 — the day demonetisation came into force. Some senior workers, who quit the party, made accusations that election tickets were sold to highest bidders. Thus, a follow-up action to eliminate black money in political funding is a most crucial electoral reform.