About 65 per cent of all electoral bonds sold since the launch of the scheme in 2018, the most recent phase for which data is available (October 1-10, 2022), according to a Right to Information (RTI) response by SBI was. State Bank of India Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad Branches India But the New Delhi branch accounted for 62 per cent of the total bonds redeemed during the period, the report said.
Electoral bonds worth Rs 10,791.47 crore have been sold in 17 SBI branches since the sale of the first tranche in March 2018, the RTI reply said, despite the fact that 29 SBI branches are authorized to sell them.
The Union Finance Ministry recently amended the Electoral Bonds Scheme, which was launched in March 2018, to allow sale for a longer period than one year. As per the November 7 amendment, in addition to the usual four 10-day windows, the government can notify an additional 15 days of sales coinciding with assembly elections in any year. The 23rd bond sale of this year took place between November 9 and November 15.
The issue has taken a new turn amid the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections. News18 explains what Electoral Bonds are:
Electoral Bonds are intended to be a bearer instrument similar to a promissory note, payable to the holder on demand and without interest.
It is the process by which an individual (Indian citizen) or a corporate entity gives money to a political party.
In 2018, Electoral Bonds were introduced. The scheme was announced by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government in Gazette Notification No. 20 dated January 2, 2018, to “clean up the system of political funding in the country”.
Electoral bonds, which were introduced to make funding of political parties more transparent, allow a political donor to purchase the bonds from authorized banks and can only be encashed by parties through registered accounts within a specified time frame. Is.
The primary goal of the Electoral Bond Scheme was to increase transparency in Indian electoral funding. On February 1, 2017, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Union Budget speech said, “Even after 70 years of independence, the country has not been able to develop a transparent method of funding political parties, which is a free system.” important for. and fair elections… Political parties continue to get most of their funding from anonymous cash donations. As a result, efforts should be made to cleanse India’s political funding system.”
It can be bought by any Indian citizen or a company registered in India. The Electoral Bonds can be purchased at a designated branch of the State Bank of India in any one of the cities listed by the Government.
Individuals and corporates interested in buying them will first have to fulfill necessary conditions like KYC (Know Your Customer) with the bank for authentication. The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore.
Electoral Bonds have a grace period of 15 days, during which they can be donated only to political parties registered under section 29A of the “Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which contribute not less than 1% of the votes polled”. Found “at the recent general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly.”
An eligible political party can encash Electoral Bonds only through an account with an authorized bank.
The Electoral Bonds will be available for purchase at the designated branches of SBI in the first ten days of each new quarter, that is April, July, October and January.
A report in the Indian Express suggests that the main criticism of the Electoral Bond scheme is that it does the exact opposite of what it aims to increase transparency in election funding.
For example, critics argue that the anonymity of electoral bonds only applies to the general public and opposition parties. The fact that such bonds are sold through a state-owned bank (SBI) allows the government to know who is funding its adversaries. It is alleged that as a result, the government of the day can either extort money, especially from large corporations, or victimize them for not giving money to the ruling party, giving an unfair advantage to the ruling party .
Critics such as Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convenor of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information, have pointed out that the BJP has received the bulk of the bonds.
The recent amendment came under public scrutiny just days ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. However, according to BJP’s national spokesperson, the Election Commission has taken this decision based on the request of corporate donors.
“The ruling party wants electoral bonds to be available on demand; It should be available whenever you feel the need for it. “That’s the goal. If they do it all at once they may face criticism. As a result, they are doing it slowly,” said Jagdeep Chhokar, a founding member. Trustee of the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
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