Demonetisation had 'no impact' on black money, says ex-EC chief OP Rawat, claims Rs 200 crore seized in present round of polls

Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat said that demonetisation had “absolutely no impact” on black money,  The Indian Express reported. [caption id=“attachment_4962511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat. PTI[/caption] Rawat, who was replaced as CEC by Sunil Arora on Sunday , added that the Election Commission of India (ECI) seized a “record amount” of money during elections. He told the newspaper that “even in elections to (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram), seizures have been close to Rs 200 crore. It shows that money during elections is coming from sources which are very influential and are not affected by such measures.” Earlier, responding to a question from PTI on transparency in funding of political parties, Rawat said that it is “a long-term reform”. “… all political party meeting in August (this year) had recommended that there should be a ceiling on party expenditure and commensurately there should be transparency in funding. I think it will see the light of day in time to come,” he said. Almost all parties agreed to a cap on expenditure, he added. Asked on his ‘biggest regret’ as the CEC, Rawat said times are changing fast with money and social media playing a major role in electioneering. The commission, he added, wanted  to review the legal framework  “comprehensively to align it to the emerging situation and futuristic needs.” With inputs from PTI