There was an intense debate around the introduction of electoral bonds by the government. Data obtained from SBI reveals that there is hardly any demand for electoral bonds of smaller denomination while 99.9% of bonds sold in terms of amount are of Rs 10 lakh & Rs 1 crore denomination. The Electoral Bonds were first […]
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Know your candidate: 15% Karnataka poll hopefuls face criminal charges
The Karnataka state polls are scheduled for May 12. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Anil Verma With only a few days remaining before the Karnataka state polls scheduled for May 12, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysed the affidavits of about 96% of the candidates. The study revealed some shocking facts about gender disparity, as well as the […]
The Chronology of Subterfuge on Amending the FCRA
Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi admitted on live TV that the repealed FCRA 1976 was amended retrospectively to save BJP and Congress from prosecution. The current saga of the FCRA (Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act), the latest episode of which happened on April 11, 2018, started in January 2013. It is revealing to look at developments in […]
Simultaneous Elections: Striking at the Roots of Parliamentary Democracy
It has become an article of faith with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that elections must be held concurrently to the Lok Sabha and the State assemblies – ostensibly to achieve the twin-objectives of minimising the expenses involved and eliminating the disruption caused to governance and development goals by frequent elections. The idea of a single […]
The Worst Fears About Electoral Bonds Have Been Confirmed
An investigation by The Quint has revealed that the much-hailed electoral bonds, which were to have ushered in an era of taint-free financing for political parties, carry a secret number “visible on the right top corner of the original document showing fluorescence when examined under Ultra Violet (UV) Light.” The saga of electoral bonds started with the Budget […]
How Some States are Subverting the Rule of Law to Drop Criminal Cases Against Politicians
The spate of withdrawal of pending criminal cases against politicians in UP, Rajasthan, MP and Kerala in recent months points at the overpowering stranglehold of the political establishment on all the organs of governance. “No legislature in India, including its parliament and all the state assemblies, has any member with a criminal case pending against […]
Hidden in Budget 2018, Blatant Subterfuge on Political Funding
The proposed amendment to the already repealed FCRA 1976, tucked away in the last page of the Finance Bill, is akin to trying to conduct a heart or liver transplant on a person who has been dead for seven years. “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action,” Ian Fleming is reported […]
Jaitley’s Electoral Bonds Are Proof That Political Parties Are Sovereign in India and Not the People
Political parties are often able to exercise supreme power with impunity, even while blatantly defying statutory authorities. A dictionary defines ‘sovereignty’ as “the quality or the state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority; supreme or independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state or community”. So […]
Much Ado About Nothing: Electoral Bonds and an Unapologetic Lack of Transparency
The new scheme to buy electoral bonds seeks to ‘cleanse the system of political funding’, but without revealing the names of donors. The day that everyone interested in political and electoral funding had been waiting for since February 2, 2017, finally arrived on January 2. It took the finance minister and all the bureaucrats under […]
Money Alone Can’t Buy Better Policing, What Is Needed Is More Autonomy
The Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) scheme, recently approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security, has no mention of the men and women who form the police force. ‘For revamp & upgrade: Rs 25,000-crore package for police reforms‘ and ‘Government clears Rs 25,000-crore scheme to modernise police force in 3 years’ are just two of the many such […]