The income-tax (I-T) department is gearing up to keep an eye on the Tamil Nadu elections to ensure that money is not used to bribe voters. The I-T department is also looking at papers of political parties to revoke tax exemption benefit of those fake parties which are formed just to launder money.
It is for the second time after the recent Bihar elections that income-tax officials are getting involved to see that the money power is not misused.
In fact, the Election Commission has roped in I-T director (investigation) Patna Anjani Kumar to foresee cash expenditure aspects in the Tamil Nadu election. “We will see that money is not used to buy voters in the elections and the money power is not misused during the elections,” Mr Kumar told this newspaper. He said that the department will work towards ensuring free and fair elections in the state, which is not influenced by money.
While Mr Kumar will oversee the operation from Delhi, he will also be going in the state during the elections. The I-T department is considered to be effective in stopping the misuse of money as its officials are present in all the districts of the state and are more apt at dealing with financial matters. I-T officials feel that their presence during the elections will create an environment where politicians will fear to distribute money thinking that the I-T department will be watching their actions. An I-T official said that once at ground they are expecting to get information from the general public also.
When the I-T department got involved in the Bihar election, it was surprised to find that in the Patna helipad people can directly approach it without any checking. “There was the fear that it was misused to bring in the money into the state,” said an IT official.