The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is hearing the issue of electoral bonds, and in the hearing held last week, many questions have been raised on this system. But the central government, undeterred by this, has opened a new window for the sale of electoral bonds in the midst of the recent assembly elections.
इलेक्टोरल बॉन्ड पर सुप्रीम सुनवाई के बीच ही मोदी सरकार ने फिर शुरू की इलेक्टोरल बॉन्ड्स की बिक्री
Go and donate to your favorite political party by buying electoral bonds. The government has announced through a gazette notification that the new window for purchasing electoral bonds (29th since 2018) is opening on 6 November. This window will remain open till November 20 and during this period, 29 branches of State Bank located in different cities will sell electoral bonds.
Just for information, it is important to mention that the previous window (28th) had opened just last month, in which electoral bonds were sold from 4 to 13 October. That window was of 10 days, but this time it has been increased to 15 days.
This new notification indicates that effectively the window for selling electoral bonds can be opened for 75 days between October 2023 and May 2024. Lok Sabha elections are going to be held next year itself. In the Electoral Bond Scheme implemented in 2018, it was said that the window to sell it would be opened four times every year for 10 days. This will include the months of January, April, July and October. Apart from this, there will be another window of 30 days in the year of Lok Sabha elections.
But last year, the government extended its period and gave itself the right to open the bond sale window for an additional fortnight when elections are being held in states or union territories. This right was used by the government first during the assembly elections held in Gujarat and then in Himachal Pradesh last year.
Let us tell you that at present elections are being held in five states. Elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will be completed on November 17, while the election process in Rajasthan and Telangana will be completed after November 20.
According to the information, during the last sale window (October 28), electoral bonds worth Rs 1,148 crore were sold from 14 branches of State Bank. Of these, bonds worth Rs 1095 crore were worth Rs 1 crore. Only 53 bonds were sold at low prices.
Electoral bonds are available in denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore. Of the total bonds sold in October 2023, there were only 57 bonds whose price was between Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000.
Due to the system of electoral bonds, political parties have got institutional permission to take donations from big industrial houses, corporates and even from foreign countries. The identity of the donor and the political party of their choice are kept secret. Only the State Bank, Government and Central Government agencies know about the donors.
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