Thursday saw the Election Commission of India unveiling electoral bonds data received from SBI on its official website, complying with directives from the Supreme Court.
Friday will see the Supreme Court reviewing the ECI’s plea for clarification/modification of its March 11 order, with the ECI also seeking the release of documents submitted in sealed covers.
In a groundbreaking ruling on February 15, a five-judge Constitution bench invalidated the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme for anonymous political funding, deeming it “unconstitutional.” The court mandated disclosure by the EC of donors, donation amounts, and recipients by March 13.
SBI informed the Supreme Court that political parties purchased 22,217 electoral bonds between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, with 22,030 redeemed.
In compliance, SBI submitted details to the EC before March 12, including purchase dates, purchaser names, and bond denominations. Details on bond encashment dates, recipient parties, and bond denominations were also provided.
The affidavit specified that between April 1, 2019, and April 11, 2019, 3,346 electoral bonds were purchased, with 1,609 redeemed.
Prominent buyers of now-defunct electoral bonds included Lakshmi Mittal, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel, Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Future Gaming and Hotel Services.
The data uploaded by the poll panel revealed purchasers such as Spicejet, IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Megha Engineering, and many others.
You can access the SBI data using this link : https://eci.gov.in/candidate-politicalparty
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