New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday donated Rs 2,000 to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as ‘party fund’ and urged all citizens to contribute through the NaMo app.
“I am happy to contribute to @BJP4India and strengthen our efforts to build a Viksit Bharat. I also urge everyone to be a part of #DonationForNationBuilding through the NaMoApp!” Modi wrote on X and shared an image of the receipt of his donation to the party.
I am happy to contribute to @BJP4India and strengthen our efforts to build a Viksit Bharat.
I also urge everyone to be a part of #DonationForNationBuilding through the NaMoApp! https://t.co/hIoP3guBcL pic.twitter.com/Yz36LOutLU
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 3, 2024
BJP president JP Nadda kicked off the party’s donation campaign on March 1 with a sum of Rs 1,000 and appealed people to join the ‘Donation for Nation Building mass movement’.
Significantly, the Supreme Court last month banned electoral bonds, which had been introduced by the BJP-led Central government. These bonds allowed anonymous funding to political parties, and constituted more than 50% of BJP’s overall funds.
As per data available with Election Commission of India, BJP managed to collect Rs 719 crore in fiscal year 2022-2023, which was a 17% increase from the previous year (Rs 614 crore).
On the other hand, donations to Congress dwindled to Rs 79 crore in 2022-2023 from Rs 95.4 crore in the previous year.
All political donations are exempted from Income Tax u/s 80GGB for companies and u/s 80 GGC for others as per Income Tax Act, 1961.