By Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: As the Supreme Court has sought a response from Union of India and the Election Commission on the electoral bonds issue, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Saturday demanded revoking of electoral bonds saying it is a “dangerous” move amounting to legalizing political corruption and is a ripe way to ensure that all kinds of quid-pro-quo arrangements. It also said this method of political financing is nothing but the “crony capitalism of the highest order”.
The CPI (M), which has filed a petition on Friday challenging the constitutionality of the introduction of Electoral Bonds by the Finance Act, 2017, said it would give more impetus to political corruption in the country.
Addressing a press conference here at the party office, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the party always holds the view that for ending political corruption there should be a ban on corporate donations to political parties.
“CPI (M) has always believed that first step to ending political corruption is to ban donations by corporates to political parties. This is the supply side of corruption … and unless this is plugged, political corruption cannot be ended.
The present government is coming to end but it still did not appoint a Lokpal(ombudsman) and now it is legalizing political corruption, Yechury.
“Instead of that, you (BJP) are legalizing political corruption. Electoral bonds are nothing but legalization of political corruption.”
“This (electoral bond system) is dangerous in the sense that any foreign company can also now donate to political parties and nobody knows who is donating it, which of the party is receiving it…
And they have removed earlier clauses and stipulations which had put a ceiling on the amount a corporate can donate to a political party… It means shell companies can be set up, money laundered,” Yechury added.
The CPI(M) leader condemned the bonds as violation of ‘right to know’ — as understood under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and Article 14 (Equality before Law) — brought for “perpetrating a fraud on the constitution by passing it as a money bill, even though it does not qualify as a Money Bill under Article 110 of the Constitution”.
He also criticized the amendments made to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) made through the Finance Bill 2018, which rendered valid all the foreign contributions to political parties made since 1976– the year FCRA was enacted.
“This again is a very very dangerous move whereby foreign companies — who owns them, who controls them, to what method are they raising their resources… It is very clear that these donations are a form of investments by the foreign companies for trade-offs and for deals,” he said while giving a list of political contribution by the foreign companies to the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
He said the CPI (M) demands the repeal of the electoral bonds and suggests that corporates should be made to strengthen democracy through a law for the purpose.
“Let there be a law that defines a percentage of profit that must be given for strengthening of democracy and let this fund form a corpus which can form a system of state funding of elections as we see this in many western democracies”.
Donations received by BJP and Congress from foreign companies.
Company | Amount (In Rupees) | Year of Donation | Political Party | Parent Company |
Hyatt Regency | 5,00,000 | FY 04-05 | INC | American Origin Company |
Sterlite Industries Ltd | 100,00,000 | FY 04-05 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 5,00,000 | FY 04-05 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 5,00,000 | FY 04-05 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 2,00,000 | FY 04-05 | INC | Vedanta |
Adani Wilmer Ltd | 2,50,000 | FY 05-06 | INC | Adani Wilmar Limited is a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani Group and Wilmar International Limited |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 5,00,000 | FY 05-06 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 5,00,000 | FY 05-06 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 2,00,000 | FY 06-07 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 15,00,000 | FY 07-08 | INC | Vedanta |
Adani Wilmer Ltd | 5,000,000 | FY 08-09 | INC | Adani – Wilmer JV |
Solaries Holding Ltd | 5,000,000 | FY 09-10 | INC | Vedanta |
Solaries Holding Ltd | 5,000,000 | FY 09-10 | INC | Vedanta |
Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd. | 50,000,000 | FY 09-10 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 30,00,000 | FY 09-10 | INC | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd Sesa Ghor | 5,00,000 | FY 05-06 | BJP | Vedanta |
Win Medicare (P) Ltd | 25,00,000 | FY 05-06 | BJP | Swiss origin company |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 2,00,000 | FY 06-07 | BJP | Vedanta |
Dow Chemical Int (P) Ltd | 1,00,000 | FY 06-07 | BJP | Union Carbide acquirer |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 15,00,000 | FY 07-08 | BJP | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 12,50,000 | FY 07-08 | BJP | Vedanta |
Adani Wilmar Ltd | 50,00,000 | FY 08-09 | BJP | Vedanta |
Vedanta The Madras Aluminum Ltd | 30,000,000 | FY 09-10 | BJP | Vedanta |
Vedanta The Madras Aluminum Ltd | 50,00,000 | FY 09-10 | BJP | Vedanta |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 50,00,000 | FY 09-10 | BJP | Vedanta |
Win Medicare (P) Ltd | 25,00,000 | FY 09-10 | BJP | Swiss origin company |
Sesa Goa Ltd | 10,00,000 | FY 09-10 | BJP | Vedanta |
SOUREC : The Wire