During the arguments, while the Petitioner objected to the scheme on the grounds of transparency, and filip to corporate control of political parties, the Attorney General of India, K.K. Venugopal, argued that the electoral bond scheme was brought in to curb black money, since all donations would be routed through banking channels. He astonishingly argued that voters did not have a right to know the source of donation to political parties, though they have a right to vote and participate in the democratic process. This is an extremely dangerous argument, since it means that voters would have no idea or information about how the political parties are funded, and the consequent implications on legal and policy decisions. The entire premise of electoral reforms is that political parties would disclose their source of funding, not take donation in cash, and would be transparent in their expenditures, which gets demolished in the present electoral bond system that provides a full proof anonymity to donors in terms of their donations to the political parties.
In this regard, the Supreme Court’s order is highly disappointing, since it fails to take note of the huge ramifications that electoral bond scheme has had on the present elections, with BJP being flushed with funds from anonymous donors. The Court also failed to note the objections filed by the Election Commission of India with respect to the anonymous nature of the bonds, which, considering the control that the Central Government has on the ECI, must reveal the extent of danger in the electoral bonds that even a ‘pliable’ ECI had to object. And, the biggest disappointment is that the Court asked the parties to reveal the details of bonds in a ‘sealed cover’ to the ECI, thereby defeating the entire purpose of seeking more transparency and accountability from the political parties. There is no reason why voters should be deprived of this vital information of who funds which political parties before casting their votes in the May, 2019 elections.
As per a latest RTI, around 99.8% of electoral bonds received by the political parties were in highest denominations, i.e., either Rs 10 lakh or Rs 1 crore, between March, 2018 to January, 2019, thereby clearly indicating that majority of the electoral bonds were bought by the corporate donors and not individual donors. The Electoral Bond Scheme has further removed the cap on corporate donations, i.e., there is now no limit of how much a company can donate to a political party, and can thus heavily influence critical financial policies.
All these point to a crisis of credibility of both the electoral system in India, and the institutions of checks and balances kept in place to counter the misuse of power. The Supreme Court too failed in its duty to uphold the sanctity of the democratic process by ushering in a transparent and level playing field for all political parties. Now the onus lies on the people of India who are watching. In outrage and in shock. Electoral democratic process is the biggest weapon in the hands of the people, and they very well know how to wield it.(IPA Service)
INDIA: LEGAL WATCH
SUPREME COURT ORDER ON ELECTORAL BONDS GOES AGAINST TRANSPARENCY
BJP WILL GET MAXIMUM MONETARY BENEFIT IN 2019 LOK SABHA POLL
Amritananda Chakravorty - 2019-04-15 18:01
On 12th April, 2019, the Supreme Court directed all the political parties to submit the details of donations received through the electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India in a ‘sealed cover’, including the detailed particular of donors against each bond, by 30th May, 2019. However, the Court refused to stay the Electoral Bond Scheme, especially before the elections, on the basis that the issue required an in-depth hearing, and the Court has to ensure that “any interim arranagment that may be made would not tilt the balance in favour of either of the parties but that the same ensures adequate safeguards against the competing claims of the parties, which are yet to be adjudicated.”