Electoral bonds verdict will reinforce power of votes over notes: Congress’ Jairam Ramesh

Electoral bonds scheme verdict: Congress, on Thursday, welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgment on the electoral bonds scheme. The apex court, terming the scheme as “unconstitutional” asked State Bank of India to furnish the details of donations to Election Commission of India and asked ECI to make the same public.

In a post on social media, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, said, “The Supreme Court has held the much-touted Electoral Bonds scheme of the Modi Sarkar as violative of both laws passed by Parliament as well as the Constitution of India. The long-awaited verdict is hugely welcome and will reinforce the power of votes over notes. The Modi Sarkar has been inflicting ANYAY upon ANYAY on the Annadatas while privileging the Chandadatas. We also hope that the Supreme Court will take note that Election Commission has been consistently refusing to even meet political parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If everything is transparent in the voting process then why this obstinacy?” 

A five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that the electoral bonds scheme violates the right to information of citizens. 

The court said that not all political contributions are made with the intent of altering public policy. The court stated that the fundamental right to privacy also includes citizens’ right to political privacy and affiliation. 

The apex court further held all the amendments made in various laws, including the Representation of Peoples Act and the Income Tax laws, as invalid. 

The scheme was notified on January 2, 2018 and was pitched as an alternative to cash donations to bring transparency in political funding. Electoral bonds can be bought singly or jointly with other individuals without disclosing the identity. 

Critics have said this eliminates transparency in electoral funding and gives an edge to the ruling parties.           

Also read: SC strikes down electoral bonds scheme, calls it unconstitutional. 5 points