Opposition applauds SC verdict on electoral bonds

Several Opposition parties have welcomed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the controversial electoral bonds scheme, saying it will reinforce the 'power of votes over notes'.

The Congress has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for spreading corruption through the scheme, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posting on X in Hindi, "Another proof of Narendra Modi's corrupt policies is in front of you. The BJP had made electoral bonds a medium for taking bribes and commissions. Today, this has been proved further," posted Rahul Gandhi in Hindi on X.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra unanimously quashed the scheme and the amendments made to the Income Tax Act and the Representation of People Act, which had made the donations anonymous.

“Electoral Bonds Scheme, proviso to Section 29(1)(c) as amended by Section 139 of Income Tax Act and Section 13(b) as amended by Finance Act 2017 is violative of Article 19(1)(a). Amendments to Income Tax Act and Representation of People Act on absolute non-disclosure of donations are struck down” said the CJI.

In another post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court, “which has struck down this Black Money Conversion scheme of the Modi Govt”. His post added, "We hope the Modi Govt will stop resorting to such mischievous ideas in future and listen to the Supreme Court, so that Democracy, Transparency and level-playing field persists".

Once again on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said PM Modi's government has been "inflicting ANYAY upon ANYAY on the Annadatas while privileging the chandadatas”.

In his post, Ramesh said, "The Supreme Court has held the much-touted Electoral Bonds scheme of the Modi Sarkar as violative of both laws passed by Parliament as well as the Constitution of India. The long-awaited verdict is hugely welcome and will reinforce the power of votes over notes. The Modi Sarkar has been inflicting ANYAY upon ANYAY on the Annadatas (providers) while privileging the Chandadatas (donors)".

"We also hope that the Supreme Court will take note that Election Commission has been consistently refusing to even meet political parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If everything is transparent in the voting process then why this obstinacy?," he added.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said, “The consequences of that (SC judgment) are mind boggling for the simple reason that all the money that political parties have received and amongst political parties the BJP has received the maximum amount of money...obviously, since the scheme has been struck down...it has huge implications.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey said the verdict would have a huge impact. “It used to be kept hidden under the electoral bonds scheme from where the political parties and the government are receiving funds, however, the Election Commission will need to clarify everything from today. It’s a huge verdict,” he said.

One of the petitioners, Dr Jaya Thakur, underscored that the Right to Information Act gives citizens the right to ask about the donations to political parties, which if not disclosed, definitely constitute a violation. “It is a big victory for us. Our demand to cancel the electoral bonds has been fulfilled today.”

Electoral bonds were first mentioned by then finance minister Arun Jaitley in his 2017 Union Budget speech. They were introduced through the Finance Act 2017, which in turn amended three other statutes — the RBI Act, the Income Tax Act and the Representation of People Act — to enable the introduction of the bonds.

Introducing the scheme, the government claimed it was to cleanse the system of political funding in the country. An electoral bond would be a bearer instrument in the nature of a promissory note, and an interest-free banking instrument. A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India would be eligible to purchase the bond.