Banerjee’s letter comes after a recent report by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS). (File)West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to call an all-party meeting on public funding of elections.
Banerjee’s letter comes after a recent report by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) titled ‘Poll Expenditure – The 2019 Elections’ said that the 2019 general elections were the “most expensive election ever, anywhere” and “twice as expensive” as the 2014 elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over electoral reforms and funding pic.twitter.com/3Kb20lxbgW
— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2019
“I would like to draw your attention to a burning issue of national importance which we had flagged in our Manifesto in 2014 and 2019. The issue is broadly of electoral reforms and specifically to prevent corruption and criminality in our democratic polity,” her letter read.
“The time has come for Government funding of elections which is the norm today in 65 countries in the world,” the letter added.
As per the CMS report, Mamata in her letter, said that the poll expenditure of the 2019 elections crossed all limits, reaching a minimum of Rs 60,000 crore, adding that the maximum expenditure remains unknown and could be “much higher.”
She added that going by this figure, it is apprehended that the poll expenditure for the next elections in 2024 could cross Rs 1 lakh crore.