Donation or Tax invasion through Electoral Bonds?

         Introduction 

Bharat, which is the largest democratic and populous country in the world, has a population of more than 140 crores. This is a huge population compared to other countries other than China because they prefer to “eat bats and give birth like rats.” India is a developing country that requires funds for development and more for political parties advertisements, which are not collected from taxes, So parties get donations from individuals, companies, etc. for campaigning, infrastructure, salaries of members, etc., this donation can’t be given in cash of above 2000 rupees as the government is promoting cash less India, and on some cause, it will accelerate the conversion of black money. In 2017, the then finance minister of India came up with the method of payment by electoral bond, in which a donor can pay with a multiple of “1000,” i.e., 1000, 10000, or 100000, and there is no end limit to it. Later in 2018, the central government notified and aimed to reduce the use of black money in India and increase the transparency in the system. Before going further let’s get what is electoral bonds.
Electoral bonds are, the financial instruments that are issued by donors to donate to any favourable political party instead to cash transaction.

Method of donating 

1. The donor will buy bonds from SBI by submitting the valid documents asked by the bank.
2. The bond should be a multiple of 1000, and the anonymity of the donor will not be disclosed to anyone, neither to the public nor to political parties.
3. After depositing a bond in a designated bank, the political party has 15 days to encash the amount; otherwise, the bond will be useless.
4. Now party has full power to use the money as required. In India, a party has to disclose the name of the person who has given above 20,000 rupees but not who has given through an electoral bond.

Not disclosing the name of donor and donated amount is violation of Fundamental Right?

On October 12, 2005, the “Right to Information Act” went into effect, promoting transparency and accountability in government operations. While passing this act, the government has promised to end the opaqueness between people and government. The Supreme Court has also recognized the importance of the right to information in its judgement in CBSE vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay, where the apex court stated that “the right to information is essential for the effective functioning of democracy; transparency and accountability are sine qua non in a genuine democracy”. The government, by not disclosing the name of the donor and the amount donated, is violating fundamental rights of people. While the government has made several options to check the donor and donated amount, it will be futile to check the name of the donor. The Central Information Commission (CIC) stated that the electoral bond process should be more transparent and the name of the donor should be public to voters. Elections are very crucial for the citizens of a country, as they decide the future of the country and its citizens. The leader who will govern us should be without stains of corruption; it would lead to confidence and reliance on him. Developed countries like the US, UK, and whole EU have opted for full transparency for the voters of the country, related to the taking of funds and their usage.

Will the use of electoral bond bring fair election and policies?

In financial year 2021-22  total funding received by 8 political parties are Rs.780.774 crore which was received by total 7141 donation. From which 80% of the amount has gone to BJP government which is nearly Rs.614.626 crore from 4957 donors and rest to other parties. It is being estimated that donation would increase to more than Rs.720 crore. People choose government at least in democratic country for being transparent with the citizen, the government in 2005 has taken a gratifying stance to be transparent and accountable for working of the country.

Corporate has donated somewhere around 80% (Rs. 625.883 crores) and government want to disclose the name and amount, this large amount would be very game changing for country as corporate is not donating just for taking blessing from parties but for tax-exemption as donation to political parties is considered as expense for corporates and seeking benefit from the ruling party this can be seen in a figure that Prudent Electoral Trust has donated nearly about Rs.353 crores in 30 transactions in which Rs.336.50 crores have been donated to BJP and rest to INC. This has been done to bring high profit to company and Prudent is backed by Bharti Airtel, whose profit is increasing day by day. In the below chart the total income earned by Bharti Airtel in past five year has been shown :- 

Parties used to donate a major amount to opposite parties, to shut their mouth in parliament.

Conclusion:

After the introduction of Electoral Bond, the cash transaction for donation has been decreased and it was thought that it would increase more transparency in country. The situation in India is mediocre as large corporates hold ownership in media companies and on other hand they are donating to parties for benefit and profit, then it became tough to tell harsh truth relating to elections. That’s why many petitions have been filed in Supreme court to make electoral bonds public so that voters can see the source of political funding in country. 

Author: ADARSH TRIPATHI,a Student of Manikchand Pahade Law College, Sambhaji Nagar