India’s top court bans controversial political funding system
- Scheme allowed anonymous political donations to be made in the form of electoral bonds
- Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has been the largest beneficiary of the system
India’s Supreme Court struck down the validity of a controversial political funding tool on Thursday, a move hailed for boosting transparency, but may do little to damage the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party so close to elections.
The court directed State Bank of India to stop issuing so-called electoral bonds in a unanimous decision announced by Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud.
Electoral bonds allow for anonymous donations to be made to political parties, and the BJP has been the main beneficiary of the funding.
An independent election watchdog, the Association for Democratic Reforms, which first brought the case to the court, argued that citizens had the right to know the source of political funding. The government said donors had a right to privacy.
Yogendra Yadav, a political activist and founding member of political party Swaraj Abhiyan, said the court’s action was welcomed, but wouldn’t damage the BJP so close to the election, which is due by May.
The decision was “unduly and extraordinarily delayed,” he said. “It is too late now as the ruling party may already have taken advantage of the bonds. Opposition parties were anyway not getting much donation through these bonds.”