The 19th tranche of electoral bonds had been put up for sale recently, ahead of the assembly elections in five states. The Supreme Court, on earlier occasions, had indicated the possible misuse of the funds received by political parties through these bonds. The original idea behind these bonds was to ensure transparency in electoral funding and clamp down on the criminalization of politics.
Understanding Electoral Bonds
Electoral bonds are issued as multiples of INR 1,000, 10,000, 1 lakh, 10 lakh, and 1 crore, with no upper limit boundaries. Only the State Bank of India holds the authority to issue and encash these bonds which remain valid during a period of fifteen days from the date of issuance. Only a registered political party can redeem these bonds.
Citizens of India can purchase these bonds for ten days each in the months of January, April, July, and October as specified by the Central Government. Any individual can buy these bonds, either on their own or jointly with other individuals. One key factor is that the bond does not carry the donor’s name.
Issues With Electoral Bonds: Impact on Democracy
Through an amendment in the Finance Act 2017, the Union government removed the obligation for political parties to disclose donations received via electoral bonds. This could obstruct the voters from understanding which person, company, or organization has funded which political party, and to what extent. In a representative democracy, citizens elect people who will represent them in Parliament.
The Question of Transparency in Electoral Funding
Most developed countries fund elections publicly in order to maintain parity and decrease the resource gap between the ruling and opposition parties. The Indian Constitution under Article 19 guarantees the “right to know”, especially in the context of elections, as part of the right to freedom of expression.
Election Bias And Crony Capitalism
The electoral bonds scheme removes all pre-existing limits on political donations, thereby allowing corporations with strong resources to fund elections, which can lead to crony capitalism. The government can access donor details from the State Bank of India (SBI), potentially leveraging this information to disrupt free and fair elections.
Steps to Rectify the Issue
To ensure transparency in election funding, several committees, including the 2nd ARC and Dinesh Goswami committee, have recommended state funding of elections. Caps or limits on financial contributions to political parties should be implemented until elections are publicly funded.
The judiciary plays a critical role as an umpire in a functioning democracy. It ensures that the fundamentals of the democratic process are upheld. Electoral bonds have raised questions about the government’s electoral legitimacy, making the entire electoral process questionable.
With nearly 75 years of democracy under its belt, India needs to transition towards a civic culture. Voters need to reject candidates and parties that violate the principle of free and fair elections to hold the government more accountable.
