The opposition must submit evidence that they have no reason to disbelieve since the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Electoral Bonds program should be stopped. Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized this scheme for lying to the public. In an interview with a news reporter, Modi sounded alarm bells about the dangerous situation that the country is heading towards as he claimed it to be a black money in elections, which would bring all regrets at the end of the day.
He admitted that there are shortcomings in the decision-making process; however, these flaws can be fixed when the necessary discussions are conducted for improvement. He asserted that further improvements are required in several different contexts, covering even schemes for electoral bonds. On the other hand, he opined that the present arrangement of spontaneous disclosure of stockpiled black money tax is indeed an apt setup, as all parties concerned shall later experience a sad reflection on the matter.
The government introduced the electoral bonds scheme on January 2, 2018, aimed to provide an alternative to cash donations to political parties, aiming for greater transparency in political funding. However, on February 15, the Supreme Court declared the scheme unconstitutional. It directed the State Bank of India and the Election Commission of India to disclose all details of bonds purchased and encashed from April 2019 onwards.
The court emphasized concerns that the electoral bonds scheme could encourage ruling parties to force individuals and entities to grant contributions. It defeated the government’s claim that the scheme aims to protect the contributor’s loneliness because the system of secret ballot does.
The highest bench of the country, the Supreme Court, through its order on electoral bonds, released just before the general elections, received positive responses from opposition parties and citizens’ movements alike. Specifically, the BJP party headed the funding of electoral campaigning in most elections, where it emerged as the key beneficiary, except during the Bihar 2020 elections when the BJP ranked fourth. The candidates from the Trinamool Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi were also important beneficiaries of these resources.
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