SC order on electoral bonds: Opposition, activists hail 'landmark' verdict

New Delhi: After the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the electoral bonds scheme, petitioners, activists and opposition leaders welcomed the Apex court verdict.

Hailing the verdict, they said it has now provided a level playing field for parties in the country and put an end to the "black money conversion scheme" of the Modi government.

Parties like Congress, AAP, CPI(M) and CPI, among others, welcomed the judgement, saying the electoral bonds were a "wilful tool of concealment, of absolute exoneration from political accountability".

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), one of the petitioners, said the Supreme Court has given a "big boost" to Indian democracy, "something our freedom struggle fought for" and it is privileged to have played a "small role in carrying that legacy forward".

Activist Anjali Bharadwaj said the "landmark" verdict upheld primacy of people’s right to information and puts "brakes on quid pro quo enabled through anonymous, unlimited corporate funding" while Commodore Lokesh Batra (retired) described it as a "victory of democracy".

CPI(M), which is also one of the petitioners, said the "unscrupulous scheme designed to finance the ruling party by anonymous corporate donors" has been completely scrapped and it is essential now that reforms for political and electoral funding are introduced to ensure transparency, clean funding and a level playing field. 

Party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury expressed hope that the details of those who bought these bonds and those who received them should "expose murky deal makings" of the BJP.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said his party had called the electoral bonds "opaque and undemocratic" from the beginning while expressing hope that the Modi government would "stop resorting to such mischievous ideas in future and listens to the Supreme Court, so that democracy, transparency and level-playing field persists".

"We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court today, which has struck down this 'Black Money Conversion' scheme of the Modi government, calling it unconstitutional. We remember how the Modi government, PMO and Finance Ministry bulldozed every institution -- RBI, Election Commission, Parliament and Opposition to fill BJP's coffers," he said.

In a statement, the Congress said it is to be seen whether the Modi government will comply with the verdict or issue an ordinance to "try and circumvent" the directions of the Supreme Court.

CPI said in a statement that it was "unfortunate" that the Supreme Court has taken seven long years to decide the matter and the party hopes that such delays will be avoided in future.

It said BJP has made several attempts in the last ten years to deny level playing field to all political parties and to affect the sanctity of the electoral process. 

AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi said the verdict was an important step in the transparency of election funding.

"It is important for a country's democracy that it is known which person is giving how much money to which political party," she said.