News Analysis India

Tag: Electoral Bonds

  • Reliance-linked Qwik Supply gave Rs 385 cr to BJP, Rs 25 cr to Shiv Sena

    New Delhi: Qwik Supply Chain Private Ltd, a little-known company with a registered address at Navi Mumbai’s Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and having links to Reliance Industries, gave Rs 395 crore to the BJP and Rs 25 crore to the Shiv Sena, data uploaded by the Election Commission showed Thursday.

    Qwik Supply, the third largest donor to political parities using electoral bonds, bought Rs 410 crore bonds between 2021-22 and 2023-24, and gave all but Rs 25 crore to the BJP. The amount of Rs 25 crore was given to the Shiv Sena in 2022.

    The company, which is described as a manufacturer of warehouses and storage units, gave no money to any other political party, the data uploaded by the Election Commission showed. Electoral bond purchases and donated by Qwik Supply were behind Rs 1,368 crore of Future Gaming and Hotel Services — another little-known lottery company — and Rs 966 crore of Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infra.

    Honeywell Properties Private Ltd, another firm with a Reliance link, purchased bonds worth Rs 30 crore on April 8, 2021 and gave all of them to the BJP.

    When the Reliance connection first came to light last week, a Reliance Industries spokesperson had in response to a detailed questionnaire, said, “Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity.” It, however, had not commented on its association with the firm. Qwik Supply, an unlisted private company, was incorporated on November 9, 2000, with an authorised share capital of Rs 130.99 crore. Its paid-up capital is Rs 129.99 crore.

    The firm had a revenue of over Rs 500 crore in 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023) but profit numbers were not known.

    It bought electoral bonds worth Rs 360 crore in 2021-22 to give away to political parties. In the same year, its net profit was only Rs 21.72 crore. It bought another Rs 50 crore worth of bonds in 2023-24.

    The company has three directors, and one reported key management personnel.

    The longest-serving director currently on board is Tapas Mitra — who incidentally also sits on the board of 25 other companies — was appointed on November 17, 2014.

    Mitra is a director of partnership firms such as Reliance Eros Productions LLP and companies such as Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline Company Pvt Ltd.

    Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline is registered in Ahmedabad at an address shared by some other Reliance companies, such as Reliance Paging Pvt Ltd, Jamnagar Ratlam Pipeline Pvt Ltd, Reliance Tankages Pvt Ltd and Reliance Oil and Petroleum Pvt Ltd.

    Vipul Pranlal Mehta has been a director on the board of Qwik since December 10, 2019. He is also a director of eight other companies, including one called Rel Icons and Traders Pvt Ltd.

    Sridhar Titti is the most recently appointed director, joining the board on November 27, 2023.

    One of two directors of Honewell Properties, Satyanarayanamurthy Veera Venkata Korlep, has been on the board of several Reliance group firms since 2005. The company also shares its registered address with several group firms.

    Filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) showed Reliance Group Support, Reliance Fire Brigade and Reliance Hospital Management together owning 50.04 per cent of Qwik, which provides logistics and supply chain support to Reliance’s retail unit.

    Nexg Devices Pvt Ltd, a firm linked to Surender Lunia, purchased Rs 35 crore worth of electoral bonds in May 2019 and November 2022. Another firm linked to him, Infotel Business Solutions bought electoral bonds worth Rs 15 crore in May 2019.

    He was the one who sold a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV held by Reliance-linked firms to the Adani Group.

  • Mystery donations: TMC and JD(U) claim electoral bonds left anonymously at their offices

    The Trinamool Congress and JD(U) provided bizarre explanations in their electoral bond disclosures for 2018-19. They claimed that unidentified individuals had delivered sealed envelopes to their respective offices in Kolkata and Patna, leaving them unaware of the donors’ identities. The Election Commission on Sunday made fresh electoral bonds data public for the period prior to 2019.

    While JD(U) revealed the identities of donors contributing Rs 3 crore out of the total Rs 13 crore received in April 2019, the TMC did not disclose the identities of donors who collectively contributed nearly Rs 75 crore through electoral bonds between July 16, 2018, and May 22, 2019.

    The TMC stated in its submission to the Election Commission on May 27, 2019, that most of these bonds were sent to their office anonymously, either dropped in a drop box or delivered by messengers, making it impossible for them to ascertain the names and details of the buyers. Similarly, JD(U) stated in its submission on May 30, 2019, that someone had delivered a sealed envelope containing 10 electoral bonds of Rs 1 crore each to their office in Patna on April 3, 2019.JD(U) reiterated that they had no knowledge of the donors’ details, emphasizing that they were unaware due to the absence of the Supreme Court order at the time of bond receipt, with only the government’s gazette notification being in effect.

    TMC suggested that identities could be established using the unique numbers assigned to electoral bonds issued by the State Bank of India. They indicated that SBI, as the sole issuer of these bonds, possessed all necessary details of the bondholders, including their KYC documents, PAN card, identity proof, address proof, and other supporting documents as per the bank’s requirements.

    EC makes fresh electoral bonds data publicThe Election Commission (EC) on Sunday information on electoral bonds on Sunday, which was previously submitted in sealed envelopes to the Supreme Court and later mandated to be made public. These details cover the period preceding April 12, 2019. In accordance with the Supreme Court’s interim order from April 12, 2019, political parties had submitted data on Electoral Bonds in sealed envelopes, as stated by the poll panel in a statement.Initially, the State Bank of India (SBI) had provided data spanning from April 12, 2019, until the cancellation of the bonds by the apex court last month. However, the recent disclosure is based on declarations made by various political parties in November last year regarding the bonds they redeemed since the scheme’s launch in early 2018, excluding the final few tranches.According to the latest data shared by the EC, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the highest funds through these bonds, totaling Rs 6,986.5 crore since their launch in 2018, followed by West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (Rs 1,397 crore), Congress (Rs 1,334 crore), and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Rs 1,322 crore).

    Odisha’s ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ranked fifth, receiving Rs 944.5 crore, followed by the DMK at Rs 656.5 crore and Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party YSR Congress at nearly Rs 442.8 crore.

    The latest data release reveals that the Janata Dal (Secular) obtained bonds worth Rs 89.75 crore, including Rs 50 crore from Megha Engineering, the second-largest buyer of electoral bonds. Future Gaming emerged as the largest purchaser of electoral bonds, acquiring Rs 1,368 crore worth, with almost 37 percent directed to the DMK. (With TOI inputs)

  • Electoral bonds scheme was world’s biggest extortion racket, used to split parties: Rahul Gandhi – The Economic Times Video

    Launching a scathing attack on BJP, Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi accused the party of capturing institutional framework of the country. Speaking at a rally in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra on March 15, Gandhi labeled this alleged act as biggest anti-national activity currently underway in India. He highlighted the purported misuse of institutions such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Income Tax departments for political gains.

  • SC to hear pleas challenging Electoral Bond Scheme on December 6

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on December 6 the plea of a Congress leader challenging a recent notification by which the sale of electoral bonds has been extended by 15 more days in the year of general elections to legislative assemblies of states and Union Territories (UTs) with a legislature.

    A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Hima Kohli and J B Pardiwala said it will hear the fresh plea by Congress leader Jaya Thakur along with other pending petitions challenging the validity of the 2018 Electoral Bond Scheme on December 6.

    Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.

    The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018.

    According to provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or a body incorporated or established in India.

    An individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

    Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and those which secured not less than one per cent of votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.

    According to the notification, electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with an authorised bank.

    Recently, a fresh notification was issued by the Centre amending the Electoral Bond Scheme of 2018 to provide “an additional period of 15 days” for the sale of electoral bonds “in the year of general elections to the legislative assemblies of States and Union Territories with legislature.”

    Congress leader Jaya Thakur has challenged the fresh notification.

    Another bench headed by Justice B R Gavai is seized of pending petitions including the PILs by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, the CPI(M) and some other petitioners.

    The Centre had on October 14 told the bench that the electoral bonds scheme is an absolutely transparent mode of political funding and it is impossible to get any black or unaccounted money through it.

    “The methodology of receiving money has been so transparent. We will explain step by step. Now it is impossible to get any black or unaccounted money. It is the most transparent system. To say it affects democracy does not hold water,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, had told the bench comprising Justices Gavai and B V Nagarathna.

    Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had called it a very interconnected issue which affects democracy.

    The top court had said it will examine on December 6 whether the batch of pleas challenging the laws permitting the funding of political parties through the electoral bond scheme should be referred to a larger bench.

    The apex court termed it an important matter which requires a detailed hearing and sought the assistance of the Attorney General and Solicitor General.

    Prior to this, Bhushan had sought an urgent listing of the PIL by the apex court on October 4 last year, seeking a direction to the Centre not to open any further window for the sale of electoral bonds during the pendency of a case pertaining to the funding of political parties and alleged lack of transparency in their financial accounts.

    The NGO, which had filed the PIL in 2017 on the alleged issue of “corruption and subversion of democracy” through illicit and foreign funding of political parties and lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties, had filed an interim application in March 2021, before the assembly polls in West Bengal and Assam, seeking the window for the sale of electoral bonds be not reopened.

    The apex court had in April 2019 declined to stay the Centre’s Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 and made it clear it will accord an in-depth hearing to the pleas as the Centre and the EC have raised “weighty issues” having “tremendous bearing on the sanctity of the electoral process in the country”.

    The Centre and the EC had earlier taken contrary stands in the court over political funding, with the government wanting to maintain the anonymity of donors and the poll panel batting for revealing their names for transparency.ALSO READ | Electoral bonds have been a mixed bag

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on December 6 the plea of a Congress leader challenging a recent notification by which the sale of electoral bonds has been extended by 15 more days in the year of general elections to legislative assemblies of states and Union Territories (UTs) with a legislature.

    A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Hima Kohli and J B Pardiwala said it will hear the fresh plea by Congress leader Jaya Thakur along with other pending petitions challenging the validity of the 2018 Electoral Bond Scheme on December 6.

    Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.

    The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018.

    According to provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or a body incorporated or established in India.

    An individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

    Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and those which secured not less than one per cent of votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.

    According to the notification, electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with an authorised bank.

    Recently, a fresh notification was issued by the Centre amending the Electoral Bond Scheme of 2018 to provide “an additional period of 15 days” for the sale of electoral bonds “in the year of general elections to the legislative assemblies of States and Union Territories with legislature.”

    Congress leader Jaya Thakur has challenged the fresh notification.

    Another bench headed by Justice B R Gavai is seized of pending petitions including the PILs by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, the CPI(M) and some other petitioners.

    The Centre had on October 14 told the bench that the electoral bonds scheme is an absolutely transparent mode of political funding and it is impossible to get any black or unaccounted money through it.

    “The methodology of receiving money has been so transparent. We will explain step by step. Now it is impossible to get any black or unaccounted money. It is the most transparent system. To say it affects democracy does not hold water,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, had told the bench comprising Justices Gavai and B V Nagarathna.

    Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had called it a very interconnected issue which affects democracy.

    The top court had said it will examine on December 6 whether the batch of pleas challenging the laws permitting the funding of political parties through the electoral bond scheme should be referred to a larger bench.

    The apex court termed it an important matter which requires a detailed hearing and sought the assistance of the Attorney General and Solicitor General.

    Prior to this, Bhushan had sought an urgent listing of the PIL by the apex court on October 4 last year, seeking a direction to the Centre not to open any further window for the sale of electoral bonds during the pendency of a case pertaining to the funding of political parties and alleged lack of transparency in their financial accounts.

    The NGO, which had filed the PIL in 2017 on the alleged issue of “corruption and subversion of democracy” through illicit and foreign funding of political parties and lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties, had filed an interim application in March 2021, before the assembly polls in West Bengal and Assam, seeking the window for the sale of electoral bonds be not reopened.

    The apex court had in April 2019 declined to stay the Centre’s Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 and made it clear it will accord an in-depth hearing to the pleas as the Centre and the EC have raised “weighty issues” having “tremendous bearing on the sanctity of the electoral process in the country”.

    The Centre and the EC had earlier taken contrary stands in the court over political funding, with the government wanting to maintain the anonymity of donors and the poll panel batting for revealing their names for transparency.ALSO READ | Electoral bonds have been a mixed bag

  • 95 per cent donations through electoral bonds going to BJP: Ashok Gehlot

    By PTI

    SURAT: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is getting 95 per cent of the total donations made through electoral bonds as donors are not providing funds to other parties out of fear.

    Addressing a press conference here as part of the Congress’s campaign for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls, the senior party leader accused the BJP of even “threatening” corporates, who wish to donate to Congress and other political parties.

    He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its chief Arvind Kejriwal, saying they spend money to suppress any negative news against them.

    “If the donation is given to other parties, the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department will come knocking on the doors of the donors. In our democracy, even donations are going to one party only. They have amassed crores of rupees, which they use to build five-star party offices across the country,” Gehlot alleged.

    “Following the introduction of electoral bonds, 95 per cent of the total donations are going to BJP. Donors are not giving to other parties out of fear.”

    “BJP has introduced a model wherein money collected through donations is being used to change state governments, as they did in Maharashtra and Karnataka,” he claimed.

    Accusing the ruling BJP of being a “fascist” force, Gehlot said the party wins elections on religious lines instead of any policy, programme or principles.

    “Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi. But there is an atmosphere of violence and unrest here. The situation is dangerous for democracy. All sections of the society are unhappy with BJP. Time has come to change this regime and Congress is ready to form the next government,” he added.

    State BJP leaders were not available for comment on his allegations.

    Gehlot, who is Congress’s senior observer for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, also accused the AAP and its national convener Kejriwal of controlling the media through money.

    “What Kejriwal is doing is also dangerous for democracy. They spend money for suppressing any negative news against them and run their announcements continuously. Their TV interviews are also fake. They created an atmosphere during the last three months that everything has changed (in their favour). But that is not true. People know their tricks,” he said.

    SURAT: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is getting 95 per cent of the total donations made through electoral bonds as donors are not providing funds to other parties out of fear.

    Addressing a press conference here as part of the Congress’s campaign for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls, the senior party leader accused the BJP of even “threatening” corporates, who wish to donate to Congress and other political parties.

    He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its chief Arvind Kejriwal, saying they spend money to suppress any negative news against them.

    “If the donation is given to other parties, the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department will come knocking on the doors of the donors. In our democracy, even donations are going to one party only. They have amassed crores of rupees, which they use to build five-star party offices across the country,” Gehlot alleged.

    “Following the introduction of electoral bonds, 95 per cent of the total donations are going to BJP. Donors are not giving to other parties out of fear.”

    “BJP has introduced a model wherein money collected through donations is being used to change state governments, as they did in Maharashtra and Karnataka,” he claimed.

    Accusing the ruling BJP of being a “fascist” force, Gehlot said the party wins elections on religious lines instead of any policy, programme or principles.

    “Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi. But there is an atmosphere of violence and unrest here. The situation is dangerous for democracy. All sections of the society are unhappy with BJP. Time has come to change this regime and Congress is ready to form the next government,” he added.

    State BJP leaders were not available for comment on his allegations.

    Gehlot, who is Congress’s senior observer for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, also accused the AAP and its national convener Kejriwal of controlling the media through money.

    “What Kejriwal is doing is also dangerous for democracy. They spend money for suppressing any negative news against them and run their announcements continuously. Their TV interviews are also fake. They created an atmosphere during the last three months that everything has changed (in their favour). But that is not true. People know their tricks,” he said.

  • May not be able to hear PIL against Electoral Bond scheme before Dussehra break: SC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday said it may not be able to hear on October 8 the plea of an NGO seeking a direction to the Centre not to open any further window for sale of electoral bonds during the pendency of a case pertaining to funding of political parties and alleged lack of transparency in their accounts.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana made the observation when it was requested by lawyer Prashant Bhushan that the PIL of NGO, ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, not be deleted from the list of matters scheduled for hearing on October 8.

    “Friday (October 8) is the last day (before Dussehra break). We may not be able to take it up (for hearing),” said the bench which also comprised Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.

    The NGO, which had filed the PIL in 2017 on the alleged issue of corruption and subversion of democracy through illicit and foreign funding of political parties and lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties, had filed an interim application in March this year before the assembly polls in West Bengal and Assam seeking that window for sale of electoral bonds be not reopened.

    The NGO, in its application filed in the pending petition had claimed that there is a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming Assembly elections, including in West Bengal and Assam, would further “increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies”.

    It had alleged that as per data on electoral bonds declared by political parties in their audit reports for 2017-18 and 2018-19, the “ruling party had received more than 60 per cent of the total electoral bonds issued till date.”

    The application had claimed that so far more than Rs 6,500 crore worth of electoral bonds have been sold with the majority of donations going to the ruling party.

    On January 20 last year, the apex court had refused to grant interim stay on the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme and sought responses of the Centre and the Election Commission on an interim application by the NGO seeking stay on the scheme.

    The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018.

    As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India.

    An individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

    Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and which secured not less than 1 per cent of votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.

    As per the notification, electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with an authorised bank.

    It said that the electoral bonds scheme has opened the “floodgates to unlimited corporate donations” to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian as well as foreign companies which can have serious repercussions on the Indian democracy.

    It said the Election Commission and the Reserve Bank of India had in 2017 “objected to electoral bonds and had advised against the issuance of electoral bonds as a mode for donation to political parties.”

    It alleged that almost 99 per cent of the electoral bonds purchased are of value one crore and 10 lakh denominations which shows that it is not individual citizens but large corporations which are purchasing these bonds with a view to receive kickbacks from the government.

    It had earlier claimed that certain amendments made in Finance Act, 2017 and earlier Finance Act, 2016, both passed as money bills, have opened doors to unlimited political donations, even from foreign companies and thereby legitimising electoral corruption at a huge scale, while at the same time ensuring complete non-transparency in political funding.

    The Election Commission had told the apex court that it has received status of filing of electoral bonds from various political parties, including the BJP and the Congress, in a sealed cover.

    The EC had filed an affidavit in the top court in pursuance to the April 12, 2019 direction asking the political parties to furnish all details of funds received through electoral bonds to the poll panel in a sealed cover.

    The apex court had in April 2019 declined to stay the Centre’s Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 and made it clear that it would accord in-depth hearing on the pleas as the Centre and the EC have raised “weighty issues” having “tremendous bearing on the sanctity of the electoral process in the country”.

    The Centre and the EC had earlier taken contrary stands in the court over political funding, with the government wanting to maintain anonymity of donors of bonds and the poll panel batting for revealing names of donors for transparency.

  • Rahul Gandhi takes dig at BJP over rise in income

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the ruling BJP on Saturday over reports of its income rising by 50 per cent through electoral bonds and asked people about the increase in their earnings.

    “BJP’s income rose by 50%. And yours?” he wrote on Twitter.

    Gandhi also shared a report by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), that said the saffron party’s income rose by 50 per cent in 2019-20 with a bulk of donations coming through electoral bonds.

    The Congress has opposed the electoral bonds, alleging that it helps the party in power.

    BJP’s income rose by 50%.And yours?BJP की आय 50% बढ़ गयी।और आपकी? pic.twitter.com/Q5HEISACDJ
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 28, 2021

  • Govt approves 17th tranche of electoral bonds; sale opens on July 1

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Assembly elections in five states, the government on Tuesday approved the issuance of the 17th tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale from July 1 to 10.

    Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.

    However, opposition parties have been raising concerns about the alleged opaqueness in funding through such bonds.

    “State Bank of India (SBI), in the XVII phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches with effect from July 1 to July 10, 2021,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

    The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities such as Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Srinagar, Dehradun, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, Mumbai and Lucknow.

    The sale of the first batch of electoral bonds took place from March 1-10, 2018.

    The 16th tranche of bond sale took place from April 1-10, 2021.

    According to the provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in the country.

    Registered political parties that have secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last election of the Lok Sabha or a legislative Assembly are eligible to receive electoral bonds.

    The SBI is the only authorised bank to issue such bonds.

    An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days from the date of issue.

    No payment would be made to any payee political party if a bond is deposited after the expiry of its validity period, according to the statement.

    A bond deposited by any eligible political party into its account would be credited on the same day.

  • SC must expose electoral bonds; if not now then when, asks Congress

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As the Supreme Court dismissed pleas seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly elections, the Congress on Friday urged the top court to expose the bonds which it alleged had become a “dubious money laundering” operation to help one party.

    Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, “SC must expose #ElectoralBonds for what they have become-: 1.A dubious money laundering operation to help one party. 2.A veiled mechanism to legitimise quid-pro-quo deals. 3.An untraceable funnel for black money payments.”

    “If not now, then when?” he said.

    Congress has been alleging that electoral bonds were designed to benefit the BJP.

    The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed pleas seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds, saying the scheme was in place since 2018, the bonds were released at periodical intervals without any impediment and safeguards were in place to prevent their misuse.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it saw no justification to grant stay at this stage and dismissed the two applications moved by NGOs to put on hold any further sale of the electoral bonds ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry from March 27 to April 29.

  • Supreme Court dismisses plea to stay sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly polls 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly elections.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde declined to stay sale of the electoral bonds as sought in the application moved by the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms.

    The NGO had also sought stay on sale of the electoral bonds during the pendency of the PIL filed by it pertaining to funding of political parties and alleged lack of transparency in their accounts The Centre had earlier told the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, that the bonds would be issued from April 1 to April 10.

    The NGO had claimed that there is a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming assembly elections, including in West Bengal and Assam, would further ‘increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies’.

    While reserving its order on the NGO’s application, the apex court on March 24 had flagged the issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds by political parties for illegal purposes like terrorism and had asked the Centre whether there was any ‘control’ over how these funds were put to use.

    The top court had said that the government should look into this issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds for illegal purposes like terrorism.

    “What is the control of the government on how the money is put to use,” the bench had asked the government.

    “The funds can be misused for illegal purposes like terrorism. We would like you, as the government, to look into this aspect,” the bench said, adding that political parties may use these funds for activities beyond their political agenda.

    “If a political party receives electoral bonds worth Rs 100 crore, what is the assurance that it won’t be used for illegal purposes or fund violence,” the bench had observed.

    The Centre had told the bench that electoral bonds have a validity of 15 days and political parties have to file their income tax return also.

    It had said that buyers have to use white money and the purchase of electoral bonds is through a banking channel.

    “Terrorism is not funded by white money. It is funded by black money,” the government had said.

    The NGO had said there is anonymity about the donor and the Election Commission and the Reserve Bank of India had earlier raised objections on it.

    It had also claimed that most of the funds through electoral bonds have gone to the ruling party.

    Assembly polls will be held in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry beginning from March 27 to April 29.