- 18 minutes ago
Chinese President Xi Jinping visits New Delhi on September 12 to participate in the BRICS Summit, marking his first trip to India in seven years. The multilateral gathering features key bilateral engagements involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, focusing on India-China border negotiations, trade relations, economic cooperation, and global diplomacy. Alongside summit coverage, this special report examines registered unrecognized political parties across Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh that collected substantial donations while operating from residential sites and locked offices without contesting elections. Former Chief Election Commissioner Dr S.Y. Quraishi and transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj analyze statutory income tax exemptions, regulatory loopholes, and Election Commission oversight, while also addressing widespread voter list deletions flagged during the Special Intensive Revision in Delhi and Karnataka.
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00:06but the big story that we are breaking at the moment Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend
00:11the BRICS summit that's going to take place in New Delhi over the weekend. Xi Jinping will arrive
00:17on September 12th. This is Xi's first visit to India in the last seven years. The Xi Modi
00:24bilateral meeting is also on the cards. Remember, as I said, first meeting in seven years that Xi
00:31will have in India with Prime Minister Modi. There is also the big bilateral with Russian President
00:38Vladimir Putin. Putin will land in Delhi tonight at 1.30 a.m. and that bilateral is expected
00:46tomorrow afternoon. Our group editor of International Affairs, Geeta Mohan, joins us at this moment.
00:53Geeta, the eyes will really be on that bilateral meeting if it does take place between President
00:59Xi and Prime Minister Modi because this is his first visit to India in seven years. Is that
01:05now confirmed that the Chinese President will hold a bilateral with the Indian Prime Minister?
01:10I'm told he's coming with a large business delegation as well.
01:14Well, the announcement, Raj, before the visit itself took place just a few hours ago.
01:19Till the very last minute, the Chinese side kept everybody guessing. Although we do know that,
01:25you know, when there's a presidential level visit, the whole country knows about it. But
01:30everybody was quite mum about the visit itself. Now, we do know that the Chinese President is
01:35visiting India. And what we're given to understand is there is going to be a bilateral meeting between
01:41the two leaders. This is the first meeting. They have met informally on the sidelines of various
01:49multilaxial meetings. And they confine themselves to maybe pleasantries, exchange of pleasantries and
01:56handcapes, including the FCA summit that was held recently in this case. But this is India hosting the
02:03summit. And the two very important leaders of the forum, that is Russia and China, both are going to be
02:09here. And we're told that there are going to be meetings that would be held between Prime Minister
02:16Modi and the President of Russia, the President of China, and also the President of Iran.
02:22Saying there will be more likely bilaterals will take place with President Putin is confirmed for
02:27tomorrow. Xi could take place on Saturday or Sunday. Am I correct? And in that sense, this is an icebreaker.
02:34Absolutely. The bilateral between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi will be taking place
02:41tomorrow. They're also expected to attend the BRICS Business Forum, a very big one. President Xi,
02:48Rajdeep, is coming with a huge delegation. There are about 400 top business honchos who will be coming or
02:54traveling with him. We've been told. So this is a big visit. This is one that will, if not reset,
03:01because we've used that
03:02word too many times, at least set the agenda on the economic front, the trade front between the two
03:08countries as to where they're headed and where they want to move, not just with BRICS, but bilaterally
03:14as well. With President Vasudh Prashkian, there's going to be a meeting that will take place on Friday. And on
03:21Saturday is when the BRICS summit kicks off. So very important crucial meetings that Prime Minister Modi is going to
03:28hold
03:28with BRICS member states and also maybe with a few partners on Tuesday.
03:37And joining me now is a very special guest. He's been one of the early proponents of BRICS. He's one
03:46of the
03:46world's leading economists and public policy analysts. Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University joins us.
03:52Good to have you, Professor Sachs. Thank you. The BRICS summit being held in India. The big news which has
03:59come
03:59today is the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will be in India. First visit to India in seven years. And the
04:07second
04:08visit that he's a second time, he's meeting Prime Minister Modi in just over a week and this time
04:13potentially for a bilateral. How do you see it? You've always been a great advocate of stronger ties
04:19between China and India. Do you see this, therefore, as a major breakthrough moment, having
04:25this bilateral, having President Xi in India? I do. I'm very pleased with the news that has come
04:34today. And of course, almost all of the leaders will be assembled for the BRICS summit in India, which is
04:42a great tribute to India. I think President Lula will be campaigning. He's in the last weeks of
04:49his reelection campaign. But other than that, the leaders are coming as they should. India's leadership
04:56is extraordinarily important. But as I've been saying for many years, the bilateral relationship
05:03between India and China is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. And the fact
05:10that President Xi is coming is excellent news. A strong, united position of China and India for a
05:21true multilateralism, for recognizing the multipolar world, for recognizing the leadership of the two
05:30giant countries. This is what we need. Basically, the world will be safer when the United States stops
05:38bossing other countries around. And the United States doesn't have the power or the authority or
05:43the legal standing to do it. And if India and China stand together and say that, this will be a
05:49big help
05:50for the world.
05:55There are two aspects to that question, to what you've just said. Let's take them one by one. The first
06:01one,
06:01you're saying that this is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, India and
06:06China. But the truth is, it's also been a relationship that's been marked by mistrust and
06:11yes, even hostility. We saw what happened in Galwan in 2020. And since then, it has been a relationship
06:18which mostly has has been unable to reconcile differences, particularly borders. There are economic
06:27challenges. The balance of trade is heavily weighted in favor of Beijing. Given all that,
06:33what why should India trust Beijing now? The fact that Beijing is bringing a big delegation? Yes. But
06:39why should India trust China at a moment like this, given that there are simmering issues still on the
06:44table? Well, China needs India, just as India needs China. Both need each other to be able to say to
06:55the
06:55rest of the world. Look, let's get on with a true multipolar world, with a UN based world, not with
07:03the one country far away trying to boss us around. And this is very relevant for the border dispute.
07:11Like so many problems in the world, the border dispute did not arise between China and India.
07:18The border dispute came because of the British Empire, like so many problems in the Middle East,
07:25in Iran, in Israel and Palestine. This is a residual dispute that came from 1914 from the British Raj.
07:38And it's time for two great countries to say, OK, we're going to settle this peacefully because we
07:47can't be bound by something that the British Raj did back in 1914. This is my view of the matter,
07:54that yes, there's a border dispute. Yes, it's led to tragic outcomes, which are
08:02really not the significant issue between two countries that constitute almost 40 percent of
08:10humanity. The purpose of the strong bilateral relations of India and China should be to improve
08:18the living conditions of both countries. This is, as I say, almost 40 percent of humanity and to help
08:27through the BRICS and through the United Nations to help all the rest of the world. In terms of
08:32economics, I have no doubt that good relations between the two countries would vastly raise India's
08:40outstanding economic growth even further.
08:47But this is an asymmetrical relationship. You've got China with superpower status. Yes, India hopes to
08:54achieve that one day. But China is out there looking at America in the eye. Given the asymmetry of this
09:00relationship, I come back to it. Can we trust China? Not only can India trust China. And its proximity to
09:08Pakistan? Yes. And by the way, closer bilateral relations between India and China will even ease that issue
09:18as well. But I meet Indian business leaders all the time. If they were or are in all kinds of
09:29joint venture
09:30activities and supply chain activities with Chinese counterparts, this is going to be a big mutual gain
09:37for both countries, a big boost for India's technology. And the idea that India has right now, which is,
09:47well, it's going to it's going to rely on the U.S. stack. This isn't going to work because China
09:53has a lot of
09:54tremendous technology that can be tremendously important for India's rapid advance. India is growing the fastest of all
10:02the large countries right now. And foreign investment from China in all kinds of joint ventures would accelerate that
10:11even more. I'm looking at the time just in less than a quarter century now, when India and China will
10:19be the two
10:20largest economies in the world. The United States will be third at that point. At some point in this century,
10:27India
10:27will be the world's largest economy. So this is looking forward, not to the backward condition, looking back when the
10:38United States was predominant. But looking forward, when the two countries, China and India will be the two leaders.
10:48Can I just push you one more time? Because just over a year ago, you will recall during Operation Sindhuur
10:54what
10:54happened post-Pahalgam, China was seen to share its military technology with Pakistan. And there's been a general
11:00belief that this China-Pakistan axis is also part of the problem. I come back to it. There'll be those
11:06listening to
11:07you, Professor Sachs. You're painting this rosy picture of the two countries coming together when
11:11the fact is there is this large element of distrust and mistrust. And China's own superpower ambitions
11:17mean that India has to tread carefully. What makes you believe that the Chinese this time can be trusted?
11:25Because China's stake in India's success is enormous.
11:31The United States is bearing down on China. This won't work. It's in fact, a little bit absurd because
11:39the United States is 335 million people. China is 1.4 billion people. India is 1.5 billion people.
11:48The United States can't get its way. But what China would like is a world in which the United States
11:56stops pretending to run the show, stops these unilateral wars such as in Iran. India is the
12:06great partner in remaking the world in a fair way. India and China together can really make a
12:15multilateral world. So China has a big stake in that. And China has a big stake in India's success.
12:21This is what I say to the Chinese leadership all the time. I think they know that. I think that's
12:27why
12:27President Xi is coming to India, because he sees that for China's sake as well, building a multipolar
12:36world in which China and India are absolutely foundational and stable parts of a new world order
12:45is to China's huge advantage as well. They're not going to play games on this. This is at the core.
12:58You know, you keep using the word multipolar world, Professor Sachs, and you spoke about how you think
13:03there is a limit to American power and authority now and American unilateralism. But what have we seen
13:09over the last couple of years under Donald Trump, unilateralism, whether it's America choosing to
13:15one day decide that they are moving into Venezuela, then we've seen the war in the Gulf under President
13:21Trump and the weaponization of tariffs as well. Anyone who trades in oil with Russia is told that
13:27America, the Trump administration warns them that we will impose tariffs on you. Given that kind of
13:32situation, when you've got someone in the White House who believes in unilateralism,
13:37where does that leave BRICS and the rest of the world? Is this, therefore, the beginning of some
13:43kind of an anti-Western alliance, something that India has not wanted BRICS to be? But in the age of
13:48Trump, what leverage do you believe India, China and the other nations of BRICS really have?
13:56Yes, the biggest danger in the world today is the American delusion that it runs the show,
14:03because multipolarity is a fact. It's a fact of life. China is the world's largest economy. India is
14:10the third largest economy. It will overtake the United States to become the second largest economy.
14:16This is a fact that we are in a multipolar world. There are four superpowers by my count,
14:22the United States, Russia, India and China. And they do need to get along with each other.
14:29The United States, however, has the unilateral mindset. If we were a century earlier,
14:37it would be the British that have the unilateral mindset. It's the same idea, same story,
14:43same heritage, actually, historically. We got what we do from the British. So this is a dangerous
14:51mindset now. I want it to come down to earth, come down to reality peacefully. But you see Trump,
14:58he launches a war against Iran for absolutely no reason, conspires to kill the leadership of that
15:06country. And now world oil prices are at $102 a barrel as we speak today. So this is what the
15:14problem is. The BRICS need to say, we're not anti-Western, we're anti-imperialist, we're anti-hegemony,
15:23we're anti-unilateralism. We don't take orders from Scott Besant, the US Treasury Secretary.
15:30He can't announce that we can't do business with Iran. Iran is one of the countries of the BRICS.
15:37He can't tell us, India, that we can't do business with Russia. He can't announce unilateral tariffs
15:45whenever he wants, the President of the United States. So the BRICS is the bulwark against that.
15:52It's half of the world population and half of the world GDP. And it's big enough to say to the
15:59United
16:00States, which is 4% of the world population and 14% of the GDP. Calm down. You cannot do
16:09these
16:10things anymore. This is very important.
16:16You know, you're saying that that BRICS has to send a strong message to America, but who's,
16:20you know, let's be also clear. You've got Russia, which is an integral part of BRICS,
16:26which has been in a, what, five-year war now, showing no signs of ending in Ukraine.
16:33Thousands of people have died there. And Russia is also accused of attempting to dictate terms in
16:40Europe. Then you've got Iran, which has been accused by its critics of exporting terror in the
16:46region. It's also going to be attending BRICS. So can BRICS really have the moral authority to tell
16:51America to back off when the fact is you've got a country like Russia, which will also be asked hard
16:57questions about how Putin pursues his politics of expansionism.
17:04Well, it's a good question, because to go back to the beginning of all of this, and I happened to
17:12be
17:12there in the 1990s. The U.S. was extremely strong. Russia was very weak because the end of the Soviet
17:22Union was a huge convulsion after all. And Russia said, we want to be normal. We want to be peaceful.
17:31And the United States said, well, that's fine. We run the world now. So we'll expand NATO. We'll get out
17:38of the anti-ballistic missile system. We'll put missiles near your border. We'll put American
17:43military bases near your border. That's the genesis of all of this. You can read it all in Zbigniew Brzezinski's
17:50book in 1997 called The Grand Chessboard, because the subtitle of that is the strategy for America's
17:59primacy. All of this was a bid for American primacy. And this was why the United States wanted
18:07to put NATO on Russia's border. This is why the United States invaded Iran, because Iran has the
18:15temerity not to be part of the U.S. empire. You know, they overthrew the Iranian government in 1953
18:22and put in a police state. And the police state lasted 26 years. And then the Iranians threw off
18:28their police state. And that's what the United States could not accept. So the U.S. has been at war
18:34with Russia since the 1990s. Actually, the whole idea was weaken Russia. It's been at war with Iran
18:42since 1979. So this is what you're repeating, which is a very good question and very accurately
18:50repeating is the U.S. narrative. But the U.S. narrative is premised on the idea that the U.S.
18:57should be the hegemon in the world. And that's what I dispute. We don't want a hegemon. We don't
19:04need a hegemon. We need the great powers of the world. It's including India to get along with each
19:11other. You know, it's interesting the way you're putting it, Professor Sachs, because there is a
19:21question. As I keep saying, there is a fear that will bring the Chinese want to lead BRICS alliance
19:26and they want to build this BRICS alliance as possibly an anti-Western, anti-United States
19:33alliance. And you've got countries like India, which would rather want BRICS to become the voice
19:37of the global South. Will there be at some stage a clash again between those two fundamental ideas,
19:43given again, as I said, that China today sees itself as the as a dominant power, possibly even more
19:49powerful the United States than certainly equal to it. So global South being strengthened or an
19:55anti-Western alliance being created in BRICS? I would suggest a third, which is that the BRICS
20:04should be the defender of the multilateral system, the defender of the United Nations.
20:10You know, the U.S. is not only attacking Russia and not only attacking Iran and not only attacking
20:17China, but the United States is attacking the United Nations. The United States has walked out
20:23of about 60 U.N.-based organizations in the past couple of years. It's all part of the same story.
20:31The U.S. claims to run the world. Donald Trump is a particular psychological example of that because
20:40he's more vulgar and more unstable than any of our earlier presidents, but basically following the
20:47same line. He actually posted a map just two days ago with the U.S. flag, the American flag,
20:55covering all of the countries of the Americas and Iceland and Greenland. He's an imperialist.
21:03And this is vulgar in the 21st century. And it is destabilizing. And the role of the BRICS is to
21:13say,
21:14look, we're not going to accept a hegemonic world or an imperialist world. When it comes to China,
21:23take note. India today is about 1.5 billion people. China's 1.4 billion people. China's population
21:32is now rapidly declining. And it will be under 100 billion people later in this century when India
21:41is at about 1.7 billion people. In fact, if you actually look at the U.N. projections,
21:47India will be twice the size of China. So India is on a very rapid development trajectory.
21:54India is going to be a larger country. India is going to be a more populous country.
21:59India is not threatened by China. Really not. If you can, both countries can just say we back off on
22:08this British-caused border dispute and work on improving our two societies, our two economies,
22:18and on the multilateral order. But in my view, China no way is going to run the world.
22:25No way is it in any position to be anything like the British were in the 19th century or the
22:32United
22:32States was in the second half of the 20th century. We're in a world beyond hegemons now. We're in a
22:41world of multiple powers of which India is one. And that is the world to make safe through
22:54multilateralism. Interesting the way you're putting it, because it echoes some of what the
22:57Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been saying. So, you know, in a sense, the rise of
23:03multipolarity and the middle powers. But let me ask you in conclusion, therefore, should India bet its
23:07strategic future on Israel and the United States, Professor Sachs, or on a stronger global South
23:14BRICS architecture? Because the fact is, in the last few years, we are just about close to a trade
23:20agreement with the United States. We seem to have come very close to Israel. Where do we stand? Should
23:25we be betting our strategic future on Israel, United States, multilateral groupings like the Quad,
23:31which we are also part of? Or should we be putting our eggs into this BRICS global South basket?
23:37First of all, the Quad is an anti-China play. And India is being used in that. India has no
23:46business
23:47being part of the Quad. For heaven's sake, get out of that. India's relations with China should not be
23:53manipulated by the United States. They should be on a bilateral basis. So India should leave the Quad,
23:59period. When it comes to Israel, I'm sorry to say this is a country of eight million people that
24:08behaves very, very badly. And it's created massive wars all over its region. And it's killed a lot of
24:17people. And its claim right now is that it, you know, can give intelligence codes and things to
24:27other countries. Don't get into this is a mess. This Israel situation. It's the way that that country
24:35behaves is disgusting. And India has no business in getting closer at this moment when, my word, they've
24:46committed a genocide and the behavior is terrible. So when it comes to the United States and the West,
24:53West, just take note of the arithmetic. The U.S. is 4% of the world population, 335 million people.
25:02The European Union is about 450 million people. Together, they're 800 million people, a little more than
25:11half of India. So the West, if you add in all of the so-called U.S. alliance, if there
25:17is still such an alliance,
25:18is about 12% of the world population. No, no one can bet their future on that, especially when they
25:27behave so badly. The point is, the arrogance of Britain was outstanding in the 19th century,
25:34unbelievable. It remains pretty arrogant today, sad to say. But of the United States, it's the same. They
25:41have a kind of exaggerated sense of power. But the center of gravity of the world economy has moved
25:49back to Asia, where it was for 2,000 years, and then briefly departed after 1800. It's moved back to
25:58Asia. Africa will be a rising part of the world population and economy. And so India's relations with
26:07Africa, India's relations with ASEAN, with the Southeast Asia, India's relations with China,
26:14India's relations with the Gulf countries in the Middle East. This is the reality. And by the way,
26:22that's India's history. It was always an Indian Ocean trading great power for 2,000 years. And this is
26:32the reality today in the 21st century. I just have 30 seconds, Professor. If you had to give,
26:40give, therefore, BRICS three non-negotiable priorities, hopefully there'll be a declaration.
26:44We don't know whether that will be hostage to what's happened in West Asia, of course, where again,
26:49you know, hostilities have resumed. But I want to ask you very quickly, three
26:54non-negotiable priorities for BRICS, 30 seconds. First, BRICS should tell the United States,
27:01stop this horrendous war against Iran. Second, BRICS should move to a multi-currency payment system
27:10so that the United States cannot enforce unilateral sanctions on India or any other country. And third,
27:17the BRICS should say, we support the UN. We want a Secretary General who is strong, independent for
27:26the whole world. And we, the BRICS countries, will host major UN activities and campuses,
27:33including in India, I hope, including in China, including in Brazil, including in Russia. We will
27:38help to host the United Nations as the true multilateral institution that we need for the 21st century. So
27:46the end the wars, multi-currency and a strong United Nations.
27:55On that note, Professor Sachs, it's been wonderful talking to you because you've given us,
28:01in a sense, an alternative perspective. Not everyone will necessarily agree with that,
28:05but it is a very robustly argued perspective there, Professor Sachs. Thank you very much for
28:12joining me there from New York. Good to have you on the show. Thank you.
28:16India today's special investigation, where a study by the Association for Democratic Rights has now
28:22revealed that some unrecognized political parties in Gujarat collected more than 2,000 crore rupees in
28:29donations in five years. That investigation that first came out on BBC's Hindi channel has now been
28:36followed up by our reporters who tried to track down these various parties. What they found is that
28:41many of these parties simply remain on paper. Here is that eye-opening special report.
28:51Bharatya National Janata Dal, the new India United Party, Satyavadi Rakshak Party and many other
29:00political parties you have never heard of. They're registered with the election commission and are
29:05called registered unrecognized political parties. Many of them exist on paper and rarely contest elections.
29:13But they collected hundreds of crores of rupees in donations between 2019 and 2024,
29:20according to data analyzed by the Association for Democratic Reforms.
29:25India Today reporters tracked the offices listed in official documents
29:29in an investigation that took us to Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
29:36The Bharatya National Janata Dal received 957.44 crore rupees in donations between 2019 and 2024.
29:47The party was formed in 2009. It has its office on the seventh floor in Meghbalar complex in
29:55Gandhinagar. Inside the office, a poster of SV Gajera, the founder of the party, is prominently displayed.
30:06The new India United Party got more than 600 crore rupees between 2019 and 2024.
30:13At its registered address in Ahmedabad, this is what we found. The party office on the third floor
30:19of Urvi complex in Naroda was locked. There was no signboard, no party name anywhere near.
30:27Local shopkeepers claimed the party's president, Amit Chaturvedi, visits occasionally.
30:38New India United Party, the president of Naroda, the president of Naroda,
31:11The Satyavadi Rakhshak Party received more than 330 crore rupees in the financial year of 2023 and 2024.
31:20It fielded exactly one candidate in 2024 Lok Sabha election, Doshi Hardik Bipin Bhai from Vadodara, where he came last.
31:31Yogi Pujar Apartments in Anand is where the Satyavadi Rakhshak Party is registered.
31:36At house number B501, a locked flat.
31:44Our search for party officials led us to Swati Bain, the chief of the Satyavadi Rakhshak Party.
32:23Next stop, the armed Jarmad party registered at Raghuvir apartment in New Naroda in Ahmedabad.
32:30The party received over 220 crore rupees during 2019 and 2024.
32:37This is the building where it functions from according to official documents.
32:41Shutters down, locks on, no banners, no nameplates.
32:46The property itself was rented.
32:48Locals say nobody visits the shop anymore.
32:52The party's website lists Gaurav Mishra as president, Vijay Singh Parmaar as national general secretary and Dharmendra Vaishnav as national
33:01treasurer.
33:04When we tried to reach the party on the phone number listed on its website, the incoming calls were blocked.
33:30The Saurashtra Janthapakshak got more than 200 crore rupees.
33:34As anticipated, its office in Wadi Pada in Surendar Nagar was locked.
33:41The Association of Democratic Reforms, which analyse the data on donations collected, says hardly any of these parties make their
33:48audit reports public.
33:50Closure statements of the registered unrecognized political parties.
33:53We see that many of these parties, at least the top 10 parties, they are getting a humongous amount of
33:58donations, right?
34:0090% of their donations come from individuals and they get maximum number of donations from those who are larger
34:05donors.
34:06They may not be actively contesting elections or if they are contesting elections, they may only be contesting on three
34:11seats, five seats.
34:12But you see their expenditure to be in 500 crores, 300 crores, 200 crores.
34:16And in terms of their electoral performance also, they are able to only get 2,000 to 3,000 votes.
34:22While the Election Commission maintains that the cleanup of the electoral system, the cleanup of the RUPPs is something that
34:29is a continuous process,
34:30something that the Commission has been doing over the past few years.
34:33But despite that, India Today's investigation has brought to the fore the glaring lapses that one can clearly see.
34:40But despite this track record, they are getting crores of rupees as donations.
34:44Experts believe maybe the agencies and the Election Commission need to come harder on the source from where the money
34:50is coming in.
34:51And maybe there is a time to re-look the cleanup of the RUPP system.
34:56Where does the money come from?
34:58How is the money spent?
34:59Is this an all-elaborate money laundering scheme?
35:04Nobody seems to know, nobody seems to care.
35:07With Atul Tiwari, Hetal Shah, Sajid Mehmin, and Aishwarya Paliwal, Bureau Report, India Today.
35:16Unknown, unrecognized parties getting thousands of crores of money in Gujarat.
35:22But it is not just a Gujarat phenomenon.
35:25There are many such parties right across India.
35:27In this report, we look at unrecognized parties in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar too.
35:47Registered, unrecognized political parties, many of which are not serious election contenders,
35:54yet end up collecting hundreds of crores of rupees.
35:59It's a phenomenon, not limited to Gujarat.
36:04India Today investigation tracked down such outfits in Delhi, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.
36:13The Rashtriya Vikas Party, with its address in Vishwakarma Colony in New Delhi,
36:18received 207.63 crore rupees in five years, according to the ADR's analysis.
36:27At the mentioned address, our reporters found a dance school, not a party office.
36:33The owner, Cheilav Agarwal, claimed ignorance about any such political outfit.
37:02The Rashtriya Vikas Party has another office.
37:05At the residence of its president, Mahesh Pratap Sharma.
37:09He was the party candidate in Faridabad in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
37:15Mahesh Pratap Sharma did not respond to our calls.
37:24The Bhartiya Jan Kranti Dal, Democratic, is registered at Sainik Society, Shakti Nagar in Javalpur.
37:33But no one here has heard about the party.
37:39The party has another address in Fatehpur Bedi in Delhi.
37:43This is a residential colony.
37:46Two families are living at the mentioned address.
37:49Here too, no one is aware of the Bhartiya Jan Kranti Dal Democratic.
37:56The Prabhal Bharat Party has its address in Sitamari in Bihar.
38:01The party received 103.84 crore rupees in donations.
38:07On the ground, no signs of the party or its office.
38:11Political parties that exist on paper, that gets crores in donations.
38:17But who is keeping a track on their activities and funding?
38:25It's time for a clean-up of our electoral system.
38:30The question is, who will bell the cat?
38:34With Sushant Mehra, Sachin Gaur, Dheeraj Dha, Amardeep Kumar and Aishwarya Paliwal, Bureau Report, India Today.
38:47So, what are we seeing?
38:49Poll funding or simple and straight money laundering?
38:53Who is funding these small, unrecognized parties?
38:57As the time comes for stricter laws on funding,
39:00should the Election Commission get powers to crack down on these parties?
39:04And if so, have they done enough so far?
39:07Joining me now, Dr. S.Y. Qureshi, former Chief Election Commissioner,
39:10and Anjali Bhattwaj, co-convener, National Campaign for People's Right to Information.
39:16To you, Dr. Qureshi, first, are you surprised?
39:18Because we are told that this has been happening for years.
39:21There have been income tax rates that have taken place in the past,
39:24but the monies continue to flow.
39:262,000 crores in Gujarat alone to six small, unrecognized parties.
39:32Just imagine the amount that is going across the country.
39:35Yes.
39:36Well, I'm not surprised because this has been an old phenomenon.
39:39And, Rajdeep, I would like to remind you that when you were running your channel CN and IBN,
39:46you had done a similar study then.
39:49We had given about 100 addresses to Anubha Bhotle.
39:52She went door-to-door just like what you have shown just now.
39:56And at that time also we found all these parties were either letterhead
40:00or signboard parties or not even a signboard.
40:03And the only surprise today is the amount that you have mentioned.
40:08At that time, the maximum amount we came across out of the 100 parties was 3 crores.
40:13And when we investigated what was the expenditure on,
40:17we found that they were spending money on buying shares and jewellery.
40:22So that was the political expenditure that they were making.
40:25That was long ago.
40:26Now, this big money that you are saying, at that time also our conclusion was that this is only for
40:34money laundering
40:35because every election donation gets 100% tax rebate.
40:39So, obviously, that kind of racket has been going on.
40:44Now, they will not get income tax benefit unless they get a certificate from election commission
40:50that we have submitted an audited account to them.
40:53Election commission gives a certificate.
40:55Only on that basis they get their income tax exemption.
41:01So, I don't know exactly what has been happening.
41:04They have been submitting something.
41:06But where is the crackdown?
41:07Why didn't the EC, whether when you were CEC, as you say,
41:11you had come across 100 plus such unrecognized parties.
41:15Today they are.
41:16Why are you all unable to crack down?
41:17The income tax and ED is hyperactive.
41:22In other cases, why can't they crack down?
41:24Correct.
41:25You are right.
41:26ED and income tax can crack down.
41:29Election commission cannot because election commission has no power.
41:32The only power we could have exercised was to deregister them.
41:36As you know, there are 3,000 registered parties at the moment,
41:39of which six are national parties recognized.
41:4367 are recognized regional parties.
41:46All of us, 2,800 something, they are unrecognized political parties.
41:52And whatever fraud they are indulging in, we cannot take any action.
41:57We once went to the Supreme Court that we want to deregister them.
42:01Supreme Court says that you have a power to register,
42:04but deregistering is a serious judicial matter.
42:07You do not have power, so you can't do anything.
42:10Since then, the election commission has been totally helpless.
42:13And the list of registered parties has been mounting.
42:18Anjali Bhatwaj, you have been working on transparency in political funding.
42:22We've seen what happened with electoral bonds.
42:25But this is something that has been ongoing, as Dr. Qureshi admits,
42:29for almost two decades, possibly even earlier.
42:32Small parties, unrecognized form,
42:34and they become instruments to collect large amounts of monies,
42:38potentially money laundering, to avoid taxation.
42:41And no one seems to crack down.
42:44It's not just Gujarat, it's across the country.
42:54Anjali Bhatwaj, can you hear me?
42:56Rajdeep, what is important to remember?
43:01It's very important to remember that political party funding
43:07is very widely recognized to be the fountainhead of corruption in our country.
43:12The report that you have put out today,
43:15what BBC has put out, the investigation,
43:17is clearly showing what is happening
43:20in the registered, unrecognized political party sphere.
43:25Now, it is extremely concerning
43:27that these parties are taking these large amounts of funds
43:31and many of them just shut shop immediately after that.
43:35They just disappear.
43:37And investigation after investigation
43:40that the media is showing,
43:43they're untraceable.
43:44Now, what we are failing to understand
43:48is that why are our agencies silent?
43:52We can see clearly and we understand
43:55that there is tax exemption
43:57that a party gets when they get a donation.
44:00Anybody who's donating, an individual or a company,
44:04also gets a tax exemption when they make a donation.
44:07So this is completely an open way
44:11of money laundering on Havala.
44:18Reports by the Election Commission
44:21and the Income Tax Department,
44:23which are showing that money laundering
44:26could very well be happening.
44:27So money laundering, Havala, tax evasion,
44:30all of these are possibilities.
44:32Then what are our agencies doing?
44:36The Election Commission of India,
44:38the website of the Election Commission,
44:40doesn't even have the audit reports
44:42of many of these parties.
44:44That's what the investigation by the BBC also showed.
44:47Now, what is the Election Commission doing?
44:49Should it not be filing complaints,
44:51raising these issues,
44:52moving at least to take some action
44:54against these parties?
44:55Why are they still registered?
44:57Why is the CBI,
44:59why is the Income Tax Department silent?
45:02We see how they are so active
45:04against opposition parties,
45:06against dissenters, civil society.
45:09What is happening in this case?
45:11Are these parties,
45:12do they have the, you know,
45:15the Sangrakshan,
45:16as we may put it,
45:17the protection of some people in power?
45:22Are those in power
45:24actually protecting these parties?
45:26Are they benefiting from these parties
45:27is the question.
45:29And let me say here,
45:30Anjali Bhardwaj,
45:31Anjali Bhardwaj,
45:33it seems,
45:33it's been some involvement.
45:35All parties are benefiting.
45:36Now we've seen what happened in West Bengal.
45:38When the Thinamul Congress broke,
45:40some unknown, unrecognized party
45:43suddenly has become
45:44the fifth largest party in parliament.
45:46They have,
45:47you know,
45:48they had only contested
45:50some election in Tripura,
45:51832 votes.
45:52Suddenly,
45:53we will find that this party
45:54is the fifth largest.
45:55So there are lots of
45:56unrecognized parties out there.
45:58Now you're saying
45:59the election commission
46:00should be at least providing
46:01audits of their accounts
46:02and then sending them
46:03to the tax and ED department
46:05for investigation.
46:06Am I correct?
46:07And the tax,
46:08and the tax department
46:10is getting their documents.
46:12You see,
46:13these,
46:13these shell,
46:14these political parties,
46:16unregistered,
46:16They're shell companies.
46:17Unrecognized.
46:18Don't call them political parties.
46:20They're shell,
46:20they're shell companies.
46:23And they are giving their accounts
46:25to the income tax department.
46:28I think there needs,
46:29need to be very serious questions
46:31asked of our agencies.
46:32I mean,
46:33we are saying that
46:34we are moving towards
46:35a Bhrashtachar Mukt Bharat.
46:37This doesn't look anywhere
46:39like a Bhrashtachar Mukt Bharat.
46:40I mean,
46:41this reeks of money laundering
46:42and Havala and tax evasion.
46:45What is the income tax department doing?
46:47What action has been taken?
46:49What is the Lokpal doing of the country?
46:52The ED,
46:53the CBI.
46:53And all of this,
46:55Rajdeep,
46:55is happening behind
46:56a veil of secrecy.
46:58Let's remember that in 2013,
47:01six national political parties
47:03were asked
47:04by the Central Information Commission
47:06to come under the ambit
47:07of the RTI law.
47:08And the ruling
47:10of the Central Information Commission
47:11could have easily been extended
47:14to all political parties,
47:15including these registered
47:17and unrecognized parties.
47:20But we are seeing
47:21that all the national parties
47:23are sitting in
47:24what we can only call
47:26uncivil disobedience
47:28of the CIC order
47:29because they haven't gone to court.
47:31There is no stay from any court.
47:32The CIC hasn't withdrawn its order.
47:34But they are saying,
47:36no,
47:36we will not be transparent.
47:37How will people also audit?
47:39How will people monitor?
47:40How will they get to know
47:41and ask questions?
47:42May I just stop you?
47:45May I stop you for a moment?
47:46Now,
47:47the ECI
47:47found 87 of these parties
47:50were not in existence
47:51in one verification exercise.
47:54Claims to have subsequently
47:55delisted hundreds more.
47:57By August 2025,
47:59they claimed
47:59they had delisted
48:00334 parties.
48:02Income Tax Department
48:03claims that there were raids
48:05a couple of years ago.
48:06But even despite all of these,
48:08these parties continue to mushroom.
48:09So,
48:10therefore,
48:10for Dr. Qureshi,
48:12delisting is what
48:13the Election Commission
48:14can do.
48:15And they claim
48:16to have done it.
48:17Income Tax rates
48:18take place
48:18but the parties continue.
48:20The point is
48:21that this is now
48:22a major loophole.
48:23Why in the first place
48:24allow these parties
48:25to get so easily recognized?
48:28Or registered rather?
48:30Correct.
48:31Registration
48:31in Rajdeep
48:32is very easy.
48:33Earlier,
48:33it used to be
48:3430 people
48:34filing an application
48:36and after advertising
48:38in the newspaper
48:39and writing objections,
48:40they would be registered.
48:41Now,
48:42it is 100.
48:42It is very easy
48:43to register.
48:44In three,
48:45four months,
48:45you can get registered.
48:47Now,
48:48deregistration
48:50power missing
48:51is the handicap
48:52of the Election Commission.
48:53You mentioned
48:54delisting.
48:55Delisting,
48:55actually,
48:55to my mind,
48:56is absurd.
48:57There is no provision
48:58of any delisting.
48:59What does it mean?
49:00Either you are registered
49:01or you are not registered.
49:04Deregistering power
49:04has been denied
49:05to us
49:06by the Supreme Court.
49:07So,
49:08we should probably
49:09go to the Parliament,
49:11get this power
49:12given to Election Commission
49:13so that we can
49:14deregister them
49:15because delisting
49:17doesn't mean anything
49:18only because
49:19five,
49:19seven years ago
49:20it happened
49:20for the first time.
49:21As far as I know,
49:22it happened twice
49:23that because of
49:24public pressure,
49:25they came out
49:26with this innovation
49:27or we are delisting them.
49:29Doesn't mean a thing.
49:30Doesn't mean anything.
49:31Yes,
49:31they are all registered.
49:33Yes.
49:34Okay.
49:34I am going to leave it there.
49:36Clearly,
49:37this is only the tip
49:38of the iceberg.
49:39We have shown you
49:40what happens in Gujarat
49:41and a few other states.
49:42This is money laundering.
49:44Prima facie,
49:45it appears at least.
49:46Surely,
49:46it calls for the
49:47enforcement directorate
49:48and the IT
49:49to crack down.
49:50The question is,
49:51will they?
49:52Is the big question.
49:53I am going to leave it there,
49:54Dr. Qureshi.
49:55I have run out of time.
49:56You have 30 seconds.
49:57You want to say something
49:57very quickly.
49:58I just wanted to define
50:00what is a registered party?
50:02Sorry,
50:02recognized party
50:03because your audience
50:04may not know.
50:05Recognition is given
50:06to a party
50:07on the basis
50:08of their electoral performance
50:09and norms are let down.
50:11Minimum of six percent
50:12vote,
50:12so many MLA,
50:13so many MPs.
50:14These are registered parties,
50:15sir.
50:16These are registered parties
50:17but unrecognized.
50:18But unrecognized means
50:20I am distinguishing
50:22between a recognized party
50:24and an unrecognized party.
50:25And why should they
50:26remain registered
50:27is the question.
50:28Yeah,
50:28the question is,
50:29why register them
50:30in the first place?
50:31They should have been
50:32immediately,
50:32there should be
50:33some process.
50:34It cannot be like this
50:35that anybody
50:36sets up a party
50:37allowed to register
50:39and the EC
50:39does no follow-up action
50:40and the ED and IT
50:42also have to wait
50:43for a complaint.
50:44That's the question
50:45which really will have
50:46to be answered.
50:47We will continue
50:48to follow up that story
50:49from different parts
50:50of the country.
50:51Anjali Bhardwaj,
50:51Dr. Qureshi,
50:52appreciate you joining us.
50:55continues to be
50:56in some controversy
50:57or the other.
50:58Latest,
50:58the draft lists
50:59that have been released
51:00in Delhi and Karnataka
51:02are under the legs.
51:03In Delhi,
51:04as we reported earlier,
51:0533% of those
51:06who had voted
51:07in earlier elections
51:08have been deleted.
51:09Many are complaining
51:10about them,
51:11including few
51:12who are reportedly
51:13dead,
51:13turn out to be alive.
51:15In Karnataka,
51:16several prominent
51:17personalities like
51:18Nandar Nilakeni
51:19are in the list
51:20of names
51:21that have been flagged
51:22for rechecking.
51:23Take a look
51:24at this report.
51:27The special intensive
51:29revision of electoral
51:30roles in Delhi
51:31have led to the omission
51:32of 47.57 lakh voters
51:35from the draft list.
51:37This is nearly
51:3833% of the list
51:40which had
51:401.45 crore voters
51:42earlier.
51:43Days after the draft
51:44list was made public,
51:46many are finding
51:47to their horror
51:48their names
51:48are missing
51:49from the list.
51:50In Delhi,
51:51Sheikh Sarai,
51:52Pushpa wonders
51:53why her name
51:54has been deleted
51:55in the SIR.
51:56Her husband,
51:57Vinod,
51:57and other family members
51:59still feature
51:59in the roles.
52:00But Pushpa
52:01has been marked
52:02as permanently shifted.
52:25Pushpa and her husband
52:27show photos
52:28and documents
52:29questioning
52:29how she could be
52:30marked as
52:31permanently shifted.
52:33In Karnataka,
52:35many prominent names
52:36have been flagged
52:38under the SIR.
52:40Sources say
52:40these include
52:41Infosys co-founder
52:43Nandan Neelikhani
52:44and family
52:45who are flagged
52:46as unmapped
52:47with 2002 SIR.
52:50Zerodha founders
52:51Nitin Kamath
52:52and Nikhil Kamath
52:53and their mother
52:54Revuti Kamath
52:55for parents' name
52:56mismatch.
52:57Chief Minister
52:58D.K. Shivakumar's
52:59mother,
53:00Gauram Ma,
53:01for a self-name
53:02mismatch.
53:03Bharat Ratna
53:04awardee
53:04and scientist
53:05professor,
53:06C.N.R. Rao
53:07for name
53:08mismatch.
53:09Actor
53:09Shivaraj Kumar
53:10for unmapped
53:12with 2002
53:13roles.
53:14Sources say
53:15while notices
53:16were generated,
53:17prominent personalities
53:19are not being
53:20inconvenienced.
53:21Officials are
53:22likely to visit
53:22them to complete
53:23the verification
53:24formalities.
53:25Those who are
53:26left out with
53:27voters' list
53:28have time
53:28till 30th
53:29September
53:30to file their
53:31claims.
53:32With Amit Bhardwaj
53:33and Sagai Raj,
53:34Bureau Report,
53:35India Today.
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