Buoyed by the success of its measures in Bihar while conducting the Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked the income-tax department to keep a tab on the flow of money in order to curb the use of black money in the run-up to the Assembly polls in the states of Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, West Bengal and Kerala.
Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi and election commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma asked the I-T department to deploy its best officers in the investigation unit to maintain a close watch on the expenses incurred by the parties and the candidates. They have also asked the IT department to put hotels, airports, railway stations, hawala operators and financial brokers under surveillance in addition to checking the veracity of the assets declared by the candidates.
In another meeting the EC asked the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to apply uniform accounting and audit standards for the political parties.
In response ICAI agreed to issue comprehensive instructions to their members for efficient auditing of the accounts of the political parties.