On Friday (March 15), veteran lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal raised apprehensions regarding the transparency of electoral bonds. His concerns came in response to the Election Commission’s disclosure of data provided by the State Bank of India (SBI), in compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court. SBI informed the Supreme Court that a sum total of 22,217 bonds were acquired between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024. These bonds were obtained in various denominations, including multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1,00,000, Rs 10,00,000, and Rs 1,00,00,000, from designated branches of the State Bank of India (SBI), without any prescribed value limitation.
A veteran lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal today (March 15) voiced his concerns over the transparency of electoral bonds, following the Election Commission’s release of data shared by the State Bank of India (SBI) as mandated by the Supreme Court.
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Addressing the media, Sibal remarked,
“Someone said ‘Na khaunga, na khane dunga’. Someone also said that he would bring back all the illegal money in Swiss bank accounts and put Rs 15 lakh in each Indian bank account,”
indirectly criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier promises. This statement sheds light on the perceived discrepancies between the government’s pledges and its actions, especially in the context of political funding.
“But they took it from here. What is the need for the Swiss bank? They deposited into their bank accounts,”
Sibal alleged, pointing towards a domestic rather than international issue of financial transparency, without pinpointing individuals.
The discourse around electoral bonds has been reignited following the Election Commission’s disclosure of the data, which revealed that entities such as Future Gaming and Hotel Services and Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd were among the principal donors to political parties. According to the SBI’s report to the Supreme Court, a staggering 22,217 bonds were purchased from April 1, 2019, to February 15, 2024.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Sibal emphasized,
“Neither there should be a CBI or ED investigation. Now the responsibility lies with the court. What will the court do?”
His statement underscores the critical role of judicial intervention in this matter.
He further proposed,
“Like it was done in the 2G case, where an SIT was made, in this case also an SIT should be constituted to probe the matter. We have to see how the law will see it now…It should also be found out who donated to the PM-CARES. It’s a matter of investigation which party got how many funds.”
This suggests a demand for a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the allocations and sources of political funding.
Electoral bonds, as described, serve as a financial instrument for contributing funds to political parties, available for purchase by any individual or entity that is a citizen of or established in India. These bonds, which can be bought in denominations ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,00,00,000, have been at the center of a heated debate regarding their impact on the transparency of political contributions.
The controversy surrounding electoral bonds has led to numerous petitions filed before the Supreme Court, challenging the amendments made through the Finance Act 2017 and Finance Act 2016. Critics argue that these amendments have paved the way for unlimited and unmonitored funding of political parties, raising concerns over the influence of undisclosed financial contributions on democratic processes.
As the debate unfolds, the call for clarity and accountability in political funding continues to intensify, with figures like Kapil Sibal at the forefront advocating for judicial scrutiny and legal reforms to ensure transparency and fairness in the Indian political arena.