Soon after the Supreme Court on February 15 struck down the electoral bonds scheme, calling it unconstitutional, many political parties hailed the move and said it would reinforce the power of votes over notes.
The apex court said it has delivered a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the legal validity of the central government’s electoral bond scheme, which allows for anonymous funding to political parties.
Taking a swipe at the BJP-led Centre, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said , “Another proof of Narendra Modi’s corrupt policies is in front of you. BJP had made electoral bonds a medium for taking bribe and commission. Today this matter has been approved.”
“The Supreme Court has held the much-touted Electoral Bonds scheme of the Modi Sarkar as violative of both laws passed by Parliament as well as the Constitution of India. The long-awaited verdict is hugely welcome and will reinforce the power of votes over notes,” said Jairam Ramesh on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
The Congress leader mentioned that the Modi government has allegedly been inflicting injustice upon injustice on farmers, while privileging the donors.
“We also hope that the Supreme Court will take note that the Election Commission has been consistently refusing to even meet political parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If everything is transparent in the voting process then why this obstinacy?” Ramesh wrote.
“All the provisions that were made to bring it into effect in the Income Tax, Companies Act, everything has been struck down. The court has made it clear that people have right to know has donated to the political parties,” lawyer and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that on the day of the launching of Electoral Bonds scheme the Congress party had called it opaque and undemocratic. Subsequently in its 2019 Manifesto Congress Party promised to scrap Modi government’ dubious scheme, he added.
“We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court today, which has struck down this Black Money Conversion scheme of the Modi Government, calling it unconstitutional,” Kharge wrote on social media platform X.
He further mentioned, “We remember how the Modi Govt, PMO and FM bulldozed every institution - RBI, Election Commission, Parliament and Opposition to fill BJP's coffers. No wonder, 95% of the funding under this scheme was received by BJP.”
“It is a significant judgement. The top Court on February 15 invalidated the Electoral Bond scheme, terming it unconstitutional. This is a significant judgement, see far-reaching consequences on political democracy,” said the Samajwadi Party backed Rajya Sabha MP.
The Supreme Court has also directed banks to stop issuing electoral bonds. State Bank of India has been directed to submit the details of purchase of electoral bonds along with the details regarding their encashment by political parties to the Election Commission. The EC has been directed to publish all the details on its website by March 31.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperon Nalin Kohli said, “What the honourable Supreme Court has said today is basically that in the electoral bonds, the information should come out. The larger perspective is that this has been a journey for several decades and concern has been how to prevent the black money or slush money getting into the electoral process. The honourable Supreme Court has held that this scheme, in this format, could not have been there. So, therefore, it has passed a set of directions, any order of the Supreme Court has to be respected.”
The SC said it has delivered a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the legal validity of the central government’s electoral bond scheme, which allows for anonymous funding to political parties.
The apex court said political parties are relevant units in the electoral process and information about funding of political parties is essential for electoral choices.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
