Having failed to corner the Government in Parliament over the issue of electoral bonds, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) convinced the Supreme Court on Friday to demand an explanation from the Centre on this issue.
An apex Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra directed the Centre to file its response to the petition moved by CPI(M) and its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and posted the matter for hearing along with another petition filed by Association of Democratic Rights pending with the Court.
The political party claimed that the manner in which the law was enacted by categorising it as a Money Bill and overruling all changes recommended by the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) undermined democracy. Although the Centre introduced the bonds to encourage transparency in political funding by corporate, the petitioner argued that such a step would lead to greater political corruption.
The bonds, as proposed by the Centre, would be of the value of Rs 1000, Rs 10000, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs one crore, which can be purchased from specified branches of the State Bank of India. For purchasing these bonds, the donor individual or company should have his bank account KYC compliant, though he need not disclose his name on the bond. The bond can be issued in the name of any political party which is registered and has secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the previous elections to the lok Sabha or Assembly.
The no disclosure clause in electoral bonds will create opacity in funding and is bad for democracy,” the petition claimed, adding that now only the Election Commission and the Government (by virtue of the money being passed through State Bank of India) will know who is contributing what sum to which political party. by virtue of the of the fact.