The Electoral Bonds data have unearthed probably the biggest-ever scam in this country whose exact scale may take much more time to assess and analyse. But some details that have emerged, based on matching exact donors to political parties, are already a curtain raiser to how the element of secrecy was used to hide the nefarious nexus between the politicians and profit-making enterprises. Investigative reports have pointed out that business companies that donated large sums of money managed to grab plum contracts within days of donations. In some cases, the donations were also extracted after raids by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax from some firms, making it one of the biggest legalized extortion rackets of all time. It also points out the transaction of dirty money from some of the blacklisted firms and shell companies to political parties, raising questions about ethics and morality while seriously impeding democracy. The data released also points out how some firms who donated thousands of crores of rupees had a turnover of just a fraction of what they donated. This makes it evident that the Electoral Bond Scheme encouraged corruption surreptitiously.
The scale of the entire operation cannot be limited simply to the Rs 16,000 crores donated by business companies, individuals, and shell companies to various political parties, of which the Bhartiya Janata Party is the main beneficiary. In many cases, the timeline and value of the contracts bagged by business groups around the time of encashment of the bonds reveal that the amount of donation is merely less than a percent of the benefits received by the purchaser of the bonds. It is thus a scam of gigantic proportions and needs a larger probe.
At the same time, this scam also reveals that the BJP which introduced this scheme of political funding with layers of secrecy has managed to create an unlevel playing field for the political parties in the forthcoming elections. The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party managed to be the biggest beneficiary, amassing more than half the total worth of the electoral bonds. Considering the magnitude of electoral funding and its implications on democratic processes, transparency should be paramount. Transparency, accountability, and public trust must remain central pillars in electoral funding mechanisms, ensuring the integrity and legitimacy of democratic processes.
It is important to call to question not just the genesis, design, and shortcomings of the Electoral Bond Scheme which was brought in to create transparency in political finance but ended up obfuscating clarity and hampering accountability. The Supreme Court’s recent disclosures amplify concerns over corruption allegations and uneven playing fields for donors, undermining the scheme’s objectives. Though the electoral bonds voluminously increased the amount of money being exchanged and added layers of secrecy to the business of funding, promoting more corrupt practices and strengthening the political-corporate nexus, the previous schemes for generating political funds have also defied the norms of transparency and accountability. This raises broader questions about the role of political parties in crafting solutions to complex issues and the need for genuine public debate and transparency in political finance reform. The Supreme Court has observed that the money routed through electoral trusts is far more transparent. India is riddled with a mess of corrupt deals and kickbacks that have been deeply institutionalised require more path-breaking solutions that can both ensure the flow of clean money and restore public confidence.
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