New Delhi:

Union minister Piyush Goyal told NDTV today that the electoral bonds issue does not figure among the key issues in the general election at all. “Nobody is asking,” he told NDTV when asked about the massive Supreme Court verdict banning them ahead of the general election in which the BJP is hoping for a third straight term in power. The Opposition, he added, were upset about the bonds because it interfered with their personal gains that came from skimming off party funds.

The Supreme Court, which scrapped the Electoral Bond Scheme on February 16, had objected to undisclosed funding through corporate donations, saying the voters had a right to know who were funding the political parties. This, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, was because political contributors “get access”, which leads to policy making. “Financial supports to political parties can lead to quid pro quo arrangement,” said the bench led by Chief Justice Chandrachud.

“Bonds were brought in to ensure greater transparency in electoral funding,” Mr Goyal told NDTV in an exclusive interview. “I think the Congress is so used to black money in funding that they were very disconcerted or uncomfortable because we were ensuring that everybody gives money through a bank account, a formal system and then the money goes into the Congress bank account,” he added.

“My feeling is that many of these Opposition parties do not desire to get formal funding. They want to get cash funding. A lot of it they may be skimming off. God knows what they are doing. whether they are using it for the party or for electoral gains,” he said.

The BJP is the biggest overall recipient (Rs 6,986.5 crore) of electoral bonds since they were introduced in 2018. The Trinamool Congress was the second (Rs 1,397 crore) followed by the Congress (Rs 1,334 crore), BRS (Rs 1,322 crore) and Odisha’s ruling party BJD at ₹ 944.5. The DMK was the sixth biggest recipient.

Mr Goyal, who is contesting from Mumbai North, also said in Maharashtra, the public sympathy will not be with Uddhav Thackeray or Sharad Pawar. Mr Thackeray, he said, has not only betrayed the ideals of Bal Thackeray by joining hands with the Congress but also the BJP and broke their alliance.

“One usually has sympathy for a person who has been wronged. If anyone has been wronged in Maharashtra, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If anyone has been wronged by the actions of Uddhav Thackeray, it is Devendra Fadnavis… In front of Uddhav Thackeray on stage, our leaders have said Devendra Fadnavis will be the Chief Minister. There will be sympathy for PM Modi, Fadnavis and the BJP who trusted Uddhav Thackeray,” he added.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M) supporters stage a protest outside the SBI regional office over the electoral bonds issue, in Kolkata on March 12, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 31 rejected the suggestion that the electoral bond issue caused a setback to his government, saying no system is perfect and any shortcoming could be improved upon.

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Ahmedabad:

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said it was not possible to run a political party without funds, and added that the Centre had introduced the electoral bonds scheme, now struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, in 2017 with a “good intention”.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said all political parties need to sit together and deliberate if the Supreme Court gives any further direction on the matter.

He made the comments at an event organised by a media house in GIFT City near Gandhinagar on Friday.

“When Arun Jaitely was (Union finance) minister, I was part of that discussion (regarding electoral bonds). No party can survive without resources. In some countries, governments fund political parties. There is no such system in India. Thus, we chose this system of financing political parties,” said Mr Gadkari on a question about electoral bonds.

He noted the “main intention behind introducing electoral bonds was that political parties get funds directly”, but the names (of donors) are not disclosed because “problems arise if the party in power changes”.

The road transport and highways minister said just like a media house needs a sponsor to finance an event, political parties also require funds to run their affairs.

“You need to see the ground reality. How are parties supposed to fight elections? We brought this system of electoral bonds to bring transparency. So, our intention was good when we brought electoral bonds. If the Supreme Court finds any shortcomings in it and asks us to rectify it, all parties will sit together and unanimously deliberate on it,” emphasised the former BJP president.

“In the interest of our country and value-based democracy, everyone needs to find a transparent way (of financing parties). Because without funds, parties can’t undertake any activity,” asserted the minister.

The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment last week, annulled the electoral bonds scheme ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls.

The top court said the scheme violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information.

Since then, the State Bank of India (SBI) has released different sets of data pertaining to the electoral bonds, containing details about funds received by political parties under the scheme, to the Election Commission.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for criticising BJP over the electoral bonds scheme and asked whether his party would return the bonds that it has received.

He said Mr Gandhi was critical of electoral bonds as the scheme has stopped his party’s source of black money for funding in elections.

Rahul Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will conclude in Mumbai on Saturday, has been targeting the Narendra Modi-led central government over the electoral bonds scheme. He termed the scheme as an extortion racket used by the BJP for toppling governments and breaking political parties.

Talking to reporters after the state cabinet meeting, Mr Fadnavis said, “The BJP is the largest party with 303 MPs, so we got 30 per cent of the total bonds, while the rest of the opposition, including the Congress, received 70 per cent bonds.”

“Will Rahul Gandhi return the electoral bonds that the Congress received? Whom did the party threaten to get the funds?” Mr Fadnavis asked.

The BJP leader said electoral bonds are accounted money that is shown in the balance sheet of political parties as well as that of corporate houses.

“The court will fix the loopholes if there are any in the scheme,” the former CM said.

“Rahul Gandhi’s outburst is because the source of black money of his party has been sealed. Congress wants black money for election funding,” he alleged.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was present at the press conference, said there was no issue left with Mr Gandhi to speak about.

“He has no right to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Only ‘Modi Guarantee’ works in India and people know it. There is no alternative to him. Rahul Gandhi is upset over Modi’s popularity the world over,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today came down hard on the State Bank of India for not sharing the complete data on electoral bonds, a scheme that allowed individuals and businesses to donate anonymously to political parties. The court had struck down the scheme and directed the bank to share all details on the donations made in the last 5 years.

Hearing a petition by the Election Commission, the Supreme Court said that the data provided by the Supreme Court was incomplete. The five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, directed SBI to disclose electoral bond numbers as well, in addition to the details it has already shared.

“Who is appearing for the State Bank of India? They have not disclosed the bond numbers. It has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said right at the outset of the hearing.

In its notice to SBI, the Supreme Court bench has asked the bank to explain the lapse during the next hearing on March 18.

The electoral bond numbers would help establish the link between donors and political parties.

Electoral bonds allowed individuals and businesses to donate money to political parties without declaring it. They were introduced by the BJP government in 2018 as an alternative to cash donations and had been pitched as an initiative to bring transparency in political funding.

The Supreme Court struck down the scheme last month, terming it unconstitutional and over concerns that this could lead to a quid pro quo. The court also urged SBI to share all details about the purchase and redemption of the bonds with the Election Commission.

In its petition, the poll panel said the March 11 order had noted that the copies of the documents submitted by it to the court in a sealed cover during the course of the hearing be maintained at the office of the EC.

The EC said it did not keep any copy of the documents and added that those may be returned so that it can comply with the court’s directions.

New Delhi:

The State Bank of India on Tuesday evening submitted data about electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India, in line with a stern order from the Supreme Court. The data will be collated and released by the poll panel by 5 pm Friday, as the court had ordered. The bank’s Chairman and Managing Director, however, has not yet filed the affidavit confirming compliance with the court order.

The affidavit, NDTV has been told, is ready and will be submitted to the court Wednesday.

The Supreme Court on Monday nixed a plea by the State Bank of India – the country’s largest bank – to extend the March 6 deadline to release this data. A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud came down strongly on the bank for “willful disobedience” of orders, and warned it of contempt proceedings.

“While we are not inclined to exercise contempt jurisdiction at this time, we place SBI on notice that this court may be inclined to proceed against it for willful disobedience if it does not comply with directions by timelines indicated in this order,” the court had said.

READ | “Disclose Electoral Bonds’ Data By Tomorrow”: Court Junks SBI Plea

The bank argued it would take considerable time to collect, cross-check and release the data, which was stored in two “silos” to maintain confidentiality of both sides. “We need a little more time to comply. We were told this is supposed to be a secret,” the bank said, and asked for time till June 30.

READ | Matching Donor Details Takes Time, SBI Tells Supreme Court

That deadline is well past the completion of the 2024 general election.

In response the Supreme Court pointed out donor details were available at the SBI’s Mumbai branch, and the bank just had to “open covers, collate details and give information”. “We had not told you to do the matching exercise. We have asked you for a plain disclosure,” the Chief Justice rapped SBI.

Last month, in a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court held the electoral bond scheme to be “unconstitutional” and said it violated citizens’ right to information. The SBI had been directed to reveal data by March 6 and the poll panel to make this information public by March 13.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Monday came down strongly on the State Bank of India for “wilful disobedience” of last month’s order – that data about donors and recipients of electoral bonds be released by March 6.

In a significant development, the court warned SBI of contempt proceedings if it failed to release this data by close of business tomorrow. The court also directed the Chairman and Managing Director of SBI – India’s largest bank, with a 23 per cent market share – to file an affidavit after compliance.

“While we are not inclined to exercise contempt jurisdiction at this time, we place SBI on notice that this court may be inclined to proceed against it for wilful disobedience if it does not comply with directions by timelines indicated in this order,” the court said.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also directed the Election Commission of India to collect and publish all electoral bonds data on its website by 5 pm Friday.

READ | “Disclose Electoral Bonds’ Details By Tomorrow”: Top Court Rejects SBI Plea

The Supreme Court was hearing a plea by the SBI to extend a March 6 deadline to release all information about electoral bonds – donors and recipients. 

The bank argued it would take considerable time to collect, cross-check and release the data, which was stored in two “silos” to maintain confidentiality of both sides. “We need a little more time to comply. We were told this is supposed to be a secret.”

The bank had asked for time till June 30, which would be well after the general election.

READ | Matching Donor Details Takes Time, SBI Tells Supreme Court

In response the court pointed out donor details were available at the SBI’s Mumbai branch, and the bank just had to “open covers, collate details and give information”. The Chief Justice then asked the bank what work had been completed since its original order – 26 days ago. “Please tell what matching you have done in the last 26 days. There is a degree of candour expected from SBI…” he remarked.

READ | SBI Plea For Time To Submit Poll Bonds Info Dismissed: What Top Court Said

The court today also heard a pleas by the Association for Democratic Reform, or ADR, which was among the original challengers to the electoral bonds scheme launched by the government in 2017. It was to allow individuals and groups, including corporates, to make political donations with absolute anonymity.

The ADR had sought contempt action against the State Bank of India for “wilfully and deliberately” disobeyed the court’s order in this matter. The ADR claimed the extension was to obscure details of donors and donations before the April/May Lok Sabah election.

“It is submitted that the said application is mala fide and demonstrates a wilful and deliberate disobedience and defiance of judgement passed by Constitution bench of this court. It is further a clear attempt to undermine the authority of this court,” it said.

The bank’s request for extension was also criticised by Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who called it “puerile”.  He called on the court  to protect its dignity, particularly after a Constitution bench judgement.

READ | “Puerile Reason”: Kapil Sibal After SBI Seeks Extension Over Electoral Bonds

Last month, in a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court held the electoral bond scheme to be “unconstitutional” and said it violated citizens’ right to information. The SBI was directed to reveal all bonds data by March 6 and the poll panel to make this information available to the public by March 13.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.