-The Telegraph Figures in May take the total amount of money invested in this opaque source of funding since January to Rs 4,794 crore Electoral bonds accounting for the maximum amount of political donations in India in May were sold in Calcutta, according to information accessed by a citizen through the Right to Information route. Of the bonds worth Rs 822 crore that were sold in select outlets of the State Bank of...
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Electoral Bonds: The Illusion of Transparency -Kamal Kant Jaswal
-Economic and Political Weekly The introduction of electoral bonds is a retrograde measure that radically alters the transparency regime of electoral funding. By obscuring the identities of a bond’s purchaser and recipient from everyone but the State Bank of India, they give an unfair advantage to the party in power at the centre, undermine the Election Commission’s oversight role, and deprive the voters of their right to determine if the ruling...
More »Jagdeep S Chhokar, one of the founders and trustees of Association for Democratic Reforms, interviewed by Ajaz Ashraf (CaravanMagazine.in)
-CaravanMagazine.in India is often hailed for its democracy, for empowering its poor and ordinary citizens to participate in the electoral process and play a role in shaping the country. This narrative has increasingly come under strain since the Supreme Court, through its March 2003 judgment in Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms, made it mandatory for candidates contesting elections to disclose their wealth, educational qualification, and criminal cases pending...
More »SBI sold electoral bonds worth Rs 3,622 crore in March and April: RTI
-PTI NEW DELHI: The State Bank of India has sold electoral bonds worth over Rs 3,622 crore in March and April this year, an RTI response has said. In a response provided to Pune-based Vihar Durve, the SBI said electoral bonds of Rs 1,365.69 crore were sold in March, which shot up by 65.21 per cent in April to Rs 2,256.37 crore. In April, most electoral bonds were sold in Mumbai at Rs...
More »PM-KISAN: In UP last stretch, BJP finds some support among farmers -Lalmani Verma
-The Hindu Business Line Launched in February after the BJP’s defeat in three states in the Hindi heartland, the Prime Minister’s ambitious scheme for farmers may help the party in its fight against the SP-BSP gathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh. Ballia, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Phulpur: Last month, Raj Narayan Rajbhar, a resident of Saimalpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur Lok Sabha constituency, had Rs 2,000 credited to his bank account under the Pradhan...
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