Editorial: Reform political funding

Instead of attacking the opposition, PM Modi must make candid introspection on why the electoral bond scheme was scrapped by the apex court

No country can expect to have free and fair elections without making political funding transparent. Since the influence of money power in the election process and in running the day-to-day affairs of political parties cannot be wished away, particularly in a country like India, the solution lies in making donations to parties transparent and accountable. After the Supreme Court scrapped the electoral bonds scheme, dubbing it unconstitutional and violative of the right to information of citizens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now openly defended the controversial measure saying it was intended to curb the flow of black money in elections. He went a step further saying the critics of the scheme would regret their stance upon ‘honest reflection’ and expressing disappointment that the country is being pushed back towards black money. This is a very significant statement coming from the Prime Minister, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, at a time when the BJP leadership is under increasing attack over turning the scheme into an instrument to strike deals with the corporates, and the opposition parties dubbing it as the biggest scam in recent memory. Instead of accusing the opposition parties of spreading lies about the scheme, Modi would be well advised to make candid introspection on why the opaque measure was scrapped by the apex court in a unanimous verdict and why the so-called cure has become worse than the disease. Besides making political funding opaque, the electoral bonds scheme has undermined democracy.

The saffron party’s swelling treasure chest is an indication of how skewed the electoral playing field is, which clearly subverts democracy and the institutions running it. However, it is nobody’s case that the country should go back to the pre-2018 situation when over 70% of all donations received by political parties were in cash from unknowable sources, resulting in black money having sway over the election process. The Election Commission and civil society organisations like the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have been demanding reforms in political funding for years. Declaring the names of donors and recipients upfront and making it accessible to the public would have been a simple solution. In the form that it was implemented, it gave scope for fraudulent deals between political parties and corporate donors. Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has suggested the introduction of a National Election Fund (NEF) to which all the donors can make their contributions and liberal income tax concessions can be offered to make it more attractive. The idea deserves consideration. The money collected by the NEF could be distributed among political parties based on objective criteria, like their performance in the most recent election. Since the number of votes polled cannot be fudged, reimbursement based on polled votes would be accurate. This scheme meets all the requirements of honesty — no extortion, no bribes, no quid pro quo.

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