Bonds of secrecy | The Indian Express

Bonds of secrecy | The Indian Express

Written by P D T Achary |Updated: April 3, 2019 8:48:00 am

The writer is a former secretary general of the Lok Sabha.

Bonds of secrecy

Concealing the identity of donors in electoral bonds goes against a fundamental tenet of democracy — transparency. Any executive Act which takes away transparency is anti-democratic and against public interest.

In India, political parties fund their election campaigns mostly through funds from corporate houses and wealthy individuals. (Representational Image)

Electoral bonds are attracting attention in the run-up to the general elections. These bonds were conceived in 2017 and the necessary legislative changes were made in the Finance Bill of 2017. For example, Section 31 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1924, was amended and a new Clause (3) was added to provide for electoral bonds. This amendment was pushed through as a money bill, whereas the Reserve Bank of India Act itself is not a money bill. This contradiction remains unresolved till today. If the parent Act is not a money bill, how can an amendment to it be treated as a money bill?