State Bank of India has started selling election bonds for donations to political parties from yesterday. It was the central BJP government that brought this scheme in 1918.
Through the Electoral Bond Scheme, funds can be disbursed to political parties one after the other without specifying who provided them. It has been announced that election bonds can be purchased till the 13th.
Election bonds have been issued in denominations of Rs.1000, Rs.10000, Rs.1 lakh, Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore.
The names of those who paid for the election bonds are not known. Those who buy them can donate to political parties of their choice.
Political parties have always been accused of secretly receiving crores of donations from big corporations and businessmen for election expenses. Will the buying parties act in favour of those donors?
The issue of election papers is also intended to encourage this trend. There is a possibility of malpractice in this too. Suppose a businessman donates Rs 10 crore to a party through an election bond. Can't he give this information to the party in advance and donate through the election bond?
So, is it necessary for political parties to receive donations through this election bond? It is imperative to reconsider. There is no doubt that the ruling party will receive more donations through this project.
That's what's going on. It is the big parties who accumulate crores of donations through the door. Those parties with a strong background can avoid raising money through election bonds.
Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has rightly criticized this. He has recorded that,election bond is a legal bribe.
Not only the ruling party but all the parties should put an end to the scam called election bond. All parties can meet and decide.
Who will bell the cat?