New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday defended the government’s electoral bonds scheme in the Supreme Court, saying a greater share of political contributions going to the ruling party was the norm.
The government’s electoral bonds scheme has faced legal challenges, and the Solicitor General presented the government’s perspective before a five-judge Constitution bench, with Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud leading the proceedings.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to a 2018 report by the petitioner, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), to underscore the importance of regulating political donations and the electoral bonds scheme.
The report analysed the funding sources of national and regional parties during the years 2004-05 and 2014-15.
The Solicitor General expressed his concerns regarding the potential consequences if the scheme were to be revoked. He emphasised that the figures in the ADR report were voluntarily disclosed by political parties and acknowledged that not everything might have been declared.
Mehta warned that interfering with the scheme could set back the progress made in this area.
The Electoral Bond Scheme is a method of funding political parties in India. It was introduced in 2017 by the Finance Act, 2017. Under the scheme, individuals and corporate entities can purchase electoral bonds from authorized branches of State Bank of India. These bonds can then be donated to registered political parties within 15 days of purchase.
The Electoral Bond Scheme is intended to cleanse the system of political funding in India. It is designed to make political funding more transparent and accountable. The scheme also aims to reduce the influence of black money in politics.
The Electoral Bond Scheme has been criticized by some for its lack of transparency. Critics argue that the scheme allows donors to remain anonymous, which makes it difficult to track the flow of money to political parties.
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