Electoral Bonds
How do election bonds function?
- These bonds have no maximum purchase amount and can be bought in multiples of 1,000, 10,000, one lakh, ten lakh, and one crore rupees.
- These bonds can only be issued and redeemed by the State Bank of India, and they have a fifteen-day expiration date.
- These bonds may only be redeemed from the designated account of a registered political party.
- Any Indian citizen may acquire the bonds for a total of ten days in each of the months of January, April, July, and October, as defined by the Central Government.
- A person can buy bonds on their own or with other people in a group.
- The donor’s name is not mentioned in the bond.
- Political parties do not ask donors to provide personal information like their PAN if they purchase electoral bonds or make donations of less than Rs. 20,000.
- The primary objective of the electoral bonds programme was to ensure transparency in electoral funding in India.
- In a country undergoing the transition to a “cashless-digital economy,” the government referred to the proposal as a “electoral reform.”
Why are electoral bonds being criticized?
- Defying its Central Concept: The electoral bonds scheme has received the majority of its criticism for accomplishing the exact opposite of what it was designed to do, which was to make election spending transparent.
- For example, some claim that the anonymity of electoral bonds only applies to the general public and the competing parties.
- Possibility of extortion: Due to the fact that these bonds are sold through a government-owned bank (SBI), the government has access to information about the funders of its rivals.
- As a result, the current administration has the power to penalize businesses for declining to give to the ruling party or demand money, especially from huge enterprises, providing the latter an unfair advantage.
- A Strike Against Democracy: Through an amendment to the Finance Act of 2017, the Union government has exempted political parties from disclosing donations obtained through electoral bonds.
- This suggests that voters won’t be informed about who, what, or how much has been giving to which party.
- In a representational democracy, voters pick the people who will represent them in Parliament.
- Right to Know is Compromised: The Indian Supreme Court has long argued that the “right to know” is included in the Indian Constitution’s (Article 19) right to freedom of expression, particularly in the context of elections.
- Those who are against free and fair elections However, electoral bonds provide no information to the general public.
- The current administration is exempt from the aforementioned anonymity because it can always seek data from the State Bank of India to obtain donor information (SBI).
- This implies that the current administration might exploit this information to thwart fair elections.
- The electoral bonds programme, which removes all prior constraints on political donations and essentially allows wealthy companies to pay campaigns, is what makes crony capitalism viable.
- A “crony capitalism” economic system is characterised by close, mutually advantageous relationships between political and commercial elites.
How to Proceed:
- Effective control over political fundraising is required, in addition to significant reforms, to break the never-ending cycle of corruption and the erosion of democratic polity.
- It is crucial to close the legal gaps now present in order to promote accountability and openness throughout the entire governmental system.
- Voters can also make a difference by supporting awareness initiatives that lead to substantial advancements. Voters rejecting politicians and parties who engage in excessive spending or bribery would promote democracy.
