On 15 February 2024, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited verdict on the electoral bonds case, declaring that anonymous electoral bonds infringe upon the right to information as outlined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Consequently, the scheme has been deemed unconstitutional and has been invalidated.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote after the verdict was pronounced, “Another proof of Narendra Modi’s corrupt policies is in front of you. BJP had made electoral bonds a medium for taking bribe and commission. Today this matter has been approved.”
नरेंद्र मोदी की भ्रष्ट नीतियों का एक और सबूत आपके सामने है।
भाजपा ने इलेक्टोरल बॉण्ड को रिश्वत और कमीशन लेने का माध्यम बना दिया था।
आज इस बात पर मुहर लग गई है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 15, 2024
Neutral but pro-Congressi commentator Sumanth Raman found himself in a foot-in-mouth situation when he simped for the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, yet again over the recent ruling on electoral bonds.
Sumanth Raman wrote on his X handle, “Huge setback for Govt. Not only has the SC said that Electoral Bonds scheme is unconsituitional, it has also asked for details of bonds sold since April 2019 to be put out by the Election Commission on its website by 13th March 2024.”
Huge setback for Govt. Not only has the SC said that Electoral Bonds scheme is unconsituitional, it has also asked for details of bonds sold since April 2019 to be put out by the Election Commission on its website by 13th March 2024.
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) February 15, 2024
While the Congressis and their propagandists were painting a picture as if it was the BJP was the one that would suffer because of this verdict, the reality is far different.
What Congress & Its Propagandists Won’t Tell You
While on the surface it may seem like a setback for the ruling party, in reality, it is the opposition parties that have more problems in handling this. As per ADR reports, parties other than the BJP have been relying more on electoral bonds for their donations. Here is a break up of the percentage of donations that parties received through electoral bonds for the 6 years – 2016/17 to 2021/22:
- BJP – 52% (5271.9751 cr)
- Congress – 61.54% (952.2955 cr)
- TMC – 93.27% ( 767.8876 cr)
- DMK – 90.703% (431.50 cr)
- BJD – 89.81% (Rs 622 cr.)
- TRS – 80.45% ( Rs 383.6529 cr)
- YSRCP – 72.43% ( Rs 330.44 cr )
BJP got 52% of its Electoral donations from Electoral Bonds. (5271.9751 cr)
Congress got 61.54% of it's donations from Electoral Bonds. (952.2955 cr)
TMC got 93.27% of it's donations from Electoral Bonds.
DMK got 90.703% of its donations via Bonds.#ElectoralBonds
— Arun Ramesh 🇮🇳 (@arun10venkat) February 15, 2024
97% of TMC’s funds are via Electoral Bonds.
86% of DMK’s funds, 84% of BJD’s funds, 71% of BRS’ funds & 70% of YSRCP funds & etc.,
But Hey, it’s blow to the Govt. 🤡 https://t.co/LZcaYAx8lM
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) February 15, 2024
For the years 2021-22, the percentage of donations received through electoral bonds along with donations in cash below Rs. 20,000, etc. are as below:
- TMC – 96.77%
- Congress – 71.84%
- BJP – 60.56%
To those grandstanding on the #ElectoralBonds issue. What does data day?
Share of income of National Parties form unknown sources (electoral bonds + donation in cash below Rs. 20,000 etc.)@AITCofficial: 96.77%@INCIndia: 71.84%@BJP4India: 60.56% pic.twitter.com/fnRmYDXJgQ
— Akhilesh Mishra (@amishra77) February 15, 2024
DMK which was not in power until 2021 received the second-highest amount in electoral bonds. Furthermore, a noteworthy detail is that 90% of the total donations received by the DMK are attributed to electoral bonds.
DMK which was not even in power for 4 years out of the 6 years has received the 2nd highest in electoral bonds among the regional parties. What’s more ? 90% of entire donations received by DMK is from electoral bonds. #ElectoralBonds https://t.co/oJ2ubSjDnb pic.twitter.com/d8MpneIF6I
— Harish Parvatham (@HarishParvatham) February 15, 2024
Those propagandists reacting enthusiastically to the verdict as if these bonds were equivalent to illegal money fail to comprehend that electoral bonds are legitimate funds directed towards political parties.
INDI, Lutyens media and fiberals (fake liberals) are jumping as if #ElectoralBonds were “hawala money”. All Dimwits need to understand that electoral bond is perfectly legitimate money paid to political parties.
Also, the corporates will fund the parties who they feel promote…
— Randeep Sisodia (@Randeep_Sisodia) February 15, 2024
The Supreme Court has asked the State Bank Of India to stop the issue of the bonds and provide comprehensive details on electoral bonds purchased from the court’s interim order on 12 April 2019, until the present date to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The court also mandated that the information should include the purchase date, purchaser’s name, and bond denomination. Additionally, the court instructed SBI to furnish details on political parties that have received contributions through electoral bonds within the same time frame, specifying the date of encashment and the denomination of each bond. This information has to be submitted by the SBI to the ECI by 6 March 2024. The ECI, in turn, is obligated to publish the received data on its website by 13 March 2024.
Once these details are made public, it will be interesting to see who donated how much and to whom.
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