Electoral bonds violate citizen's RTI about political parties: Bhushan tells SC
The Supreme Court is currently evaluating whether the electoral bond scheme infringes upon citizens' fundamental right to information regarding political party funding. Senior counsel Prashant Bhushan argues that the mechanism creates an opaque system where only the government and the State Bank of India possess knowledge of donor identities. By shielding this financial data from the public, the electoral commission, and the parties themselves, the scheme undermines transparency and prevents voters from understanding the influence behind political entities. The proceedings highlight significant concerns regarding the scheme's impact on democratic equality and corporate accountability. With the removal of donation caps, even shell companies and loss-making entities can now fund political parties, raising allegations that the system facilitates legalized kickbacks to ruling parties. The disproportionate distribution of bonds, heavily favoring the government-aligned parties over opposition entities, suggests a distorted playing field that compromises fair electoral competition and potentially allows corporate interests to dictate political outcomes. This case is critical to open data principles because it challenges the balance between state secrecy and public accountability in political finance. If the court upholds the scheme, it establishes a precedent where essential political funding data remains classified, hindering civil society and researchers from analyzing influence peddling. Conversely, a ruling against the scheme would reinforce the necessity of accessible, transparent data regarding financial flows in democracy, ensuring that citizens can scrutinize the sources of political power.
Source: prokerala.comPublished on 2023-11-01
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