The Supreme Court in its judgment on March 13, 2003 had made it mandatory for candidates contesting Parliamentary and Assembly elections to disclose their criminal, financial, educational backgrounds in affidavits submitted with their nomination papers. But if the state of affairs in Gujarat is any indication, the SC guidelines are still caught up in buck tossing between the state Election Commission and the Income Tax Department.

In Gujarat, during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, three candidates from the BJP and eight from the Congress did not disclose their Permanent Account Numbers (PAN). The same pattern was repeated in the 2007 Assembly polls, but to a much larger degree, with 37 candidates each from the BJP and Congress not reporting their PAN. At least 12 candidates, without PAN cards, had declared assets exceeding Rs one crore.

In the current Lok Sabha election, at least four candidates have not disclosed their PAN. And one of the richest candidate in the electoral fray, Krantikari Jaihind Sena candidate from Surendranagar Khimji Patadiya has declared assets worth Rs 514 crore without disclosing his PAN.

All these perceived discrepancies over the years should have attracted an inquiry on the part of the Income Tax Department. But the department officials were completely ignorant regarding any developments on this front. Acknowledging that the department doesn’t have a clear-cut mandate from the Department of Revenue, (Ministry of Finance, Government of India) to scrutinise the affidavits, D S Rastogi, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (I-T), Ahmedabad, said, “I will consult the Directorate of I-T (Investigation), Ahmedabad, and then only can comment on the matter.”

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