Electoral Bonds: A speed breaker on road the of democracy?
-Preet
It is very well said that, money corrupts the wisest of minds, and politics, always being at the brink of dishonesty, is believed to face a magnanimous threat due to this innovative system of funding the ideology one stands up for, called the Electoral Bonds. The system initially pitched as a way
to promote transparency in the process of funding the political parties one supports, now seems to be a hindrance in the same.
Recently the 19th tranche of electoral bonds were on sale from 1st of January to 10th of January, it was brought up to serve as an alternative of cash donations, and this time it has drawn attention, given that there are assembly elections in five states in a few months.
The current events have made the system of electoral bonds a motion of general discourse, and that is a good sign, for it depicts the interest of en-masse in the politics of the nation.
A democracy is a rule by the people for the people, and it is very strongly believed that, if a democracy has to prosper, it must have restrictions on the influencing power of money on politics. In most of the developed countries, the funding processes of elections are done publicly to guarantee a justified political contest. This very aspect of transparency, which is fundamental to the concept of democracy, is believed to be defeated by the system of electoral bonds, since it conceals the identity of donors. This raises the risk of the government policies being a quid pro quo to aid the anonymous donors.
The Supreme Court of Indian, too, has raised concern regarding the ambiguity and anonymity in the system of electoral bonds. The Supreme Court fears that there is a possibility of misuse of money received by political parties through electoral bonds.
In ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORMS & ANR. vs. UNION OF INDIA & ORS. the Supreme Court though refused to put a stay on the system of electoral bonds and denied that it undermines the transparency but to the contrary also flagged a concern, that, parties might use the funds to promote and fund terror and violent protests and questioned the Centre, whether it has any control over its end use.
The system of electoral bonds was brought in place by an amendment in the Finance Act 2017, through this amendment, the union government exempted political parties from disclosing donations received through electoral bonds. The electoral bonds are issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 Lakh, Rs. 10 Lakh and Rs. 1 Crore without any maximum limit. The absence of any upper limit on individual donations combined with anonymity of the donors poses a serious threat of Government decisions being biased towards those donating enormous amounts to aid the promotion of party in power, Though this process of purchase of electoral bonds are conducted in the supervision of State Bank Of India, which gives a sense of relief and a reason for reliability on this system. Also the fact that these bonds are redeemable in the designated account of a registered political party soothes the concern raised due to ambiguity and anonymity. Although it is still believed to be compromising with the "right to know", which is an integral part of the "right to freedom of expression", conferred in Article 19 of the Constitution Of India. Also it hits a blow against the idea of free and fair elections. Also the removal of all previously existing limitations on the political donations gives a cue to the business tycoons and big corporations to fund the parties, leading to crony capitalism.
The concerns raised by various intellectuals and those observing the impacts of this, is a reason for the fear in en-masse about the government decisions favouring the funders of the parties, neglecting or compromising with the interest of the general public. To calm these questions, transparency must be brought in this system of electoral bonds. The 2nd ARC Dinesh Goswami Committee has recommended state funding of elections. Also, if the funding process of elections is not public, at least there should be caps or limits on individual contributions to political parties.
The Judiciary's active role, too, is a solution. Since there have been questions on the legitimacy of the system of electoral bonds and hence the whole electoral process has become questionable, here the courts should play the role of a referee and ensure a level playing ground to all parties.
Also these issues can be solved by the active participation of the largest stakeholder in a democracy, the general public, as they have the duty to be aware about the issues and affairs and choose wisely, the candidate and parties, to bring in power, the best possible option and neglect those who seem to be violating the principle of free and fair elections.
Only with the collaboration of all the stakeholders, the fundamentals of democracy, which includes transparency, can be ensured.
Noiceeeeeeeee
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