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- PM Narendra Modi Electoral Bond Scheme Case; Supreme Court Hearing Today
New Delhi2 hours ago
The petitions filed against the electoral bond scheme will be heard in the Supreme Court today. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had filed the petition in the court on behalf of the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). In this, there was a demand for a ban on electoral bonds with immediate effect. Then the then CJI SA Bobde had reserved his decision.
During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan had said that this is a wrong use of bonds. Shell companies are using it to convert black money into white. Only the government knows who is buying the bonds. The Election Commission cannot take any information related to this. This is a way of bribing a political party.
what is the whole matter
The plan was challenged in 2017 itself, but the hearing began in 2019. On April 12, 2019, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to submit all information related to electoral bonds to the Election Commission in a single envelope by May 30, 2019. However, the court did not put a stay on the plan.
Later in December, 2019, the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) filed an application seeking a stay on the scheme. In this, media reports were cited as to how the concerns of the Election Commission and the Reserve Bank on the electoral bond scheme were sidelined by the central government.
During the hearing on this, former CJI SA Bobde said that the matter will be heard in January 2020. The hearing was again adjourned for the filing of reply by the Election Commission. Since then, there has been no hearing in the matter till now.
What is an electoral bond?
In the 2017 budget, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the electoral or electoral bond scheme. It was notified by the Central Government on 29 January 2018. This is a kind of promissory note. Also called bank note. Any Indian citizen or company can buy it. If you want to buy it, then you will get it in the selected branch of State Bank of India. The buyer can donate this bond to the party of his choice. Only that party should be eligible for this.
How will you know if the party you are donating is eligible?
A bond buyer can buy bonds ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore. The buyer has to give his complete KYC details to the bank. The party to whom the buyer wants to donate this bond must have got at least 1% of the vote in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly election. Within 15 days of donating the bond of the donor, it has to be cashed by that party from the bank account verified by the Election Commission.
Why the controversy over this…
In 2017, Arun Jaitley, while presenting it, claimed that it would bring transparency in the funding of political parties and the election system. Black money will be curbed. On the other hand, those opposing it say that the identity of the purchaser of electoral bonds is not disclosed, due to which they can become a means of using black money in elections. Some people allege that this scheme has been brought keeping in mind the big corporate houses. With this, these families can donate as much as they want to political parties without revealing their identity.
Information related to electoral bonds
- Any Indian can buy it
- By giving KYC details to the bank, bonds from 1 thousand to 1 crore rupees can be bought.
- The identity of the bond buyer remains a secret
- The person who buys it also gets a tax rebate
- These bonds are valid for 15 days from the date of issue
9,207 crore received from electoral bonds in 4 years
In the first 10 days of January 2022, about Rs 1,213 crore of electoral bonds have been sold from SBI to donate to political parties. In this way, in 4 years from 2018 till now, political parties have received donations of Rs 9,207 crore from electoral bonds. Where did this money come from and who gave it, it is not known. Read full news…