The pre-2017 electoral funding system was far from perfect, but distortions like electoral bonds exacerbate the problem The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision on February 15, declared the electoral bonds scheme introduced by the previous Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2017, unconstitutional. The judgment has stirred a hornet’s nest with all kinds […]
Will the government bring an ordinance to overrule the SC judgement? Unlikely, because all the amendments done to various acts – IT Act, Companies Act, RPA 1951 – have been struck down as unconstitutional. Moreover, SC has upheld the citizens right to know on sources of political funding. Hence any future scheme introduced to curb […]
A lot of us seem to have forgotten that political parties, elections and democracy existed even before 2017 – and so before the existence of electoral bonds. Though introduced in 2017, Electoral Bonds (EBs) seem to have become a popular topic in the national discourse ever since the recent three-day hearing in the Supreme Court […]
In the age of digital dominance, electoral bonds are a calculated and sophisticated step towards electoral gain. Money is never neutral but it tends to mostly, if not always, favour the most domineering and deep-pocketed. This expression is highly relevant in the context of Indian elections where the stakes are always high and the sole […]
The GoI was prodded after 73 years to table a Bill when the March 2023 SC judgment constituted a three-member bipartisan selection committee comprising the PM, CJI and LOP to appoint the CEC and ECs. But the Bill’s selection panel comprising the PM, LOP and a Union minister allows the Executive to retain control over […]
Supreme Court has done what successive governments shied away from. Selection of CEC and ECs by government was problematic. With weighty decisions on conducting elections and adjudicating disputes between parties to be made by this high constitutional office, election commissioner selection is best taken out of Executive’s hands On May 17, 2021, the Association for […]
The proposal for remote voting for migrant resident voters (MRIs) is not new has its origins in an older proposal, to allow Non-Resident Indians to vote. There are serious issues with this. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a new initiative to introduce a ‘remote voting machine (RVM) system’ for migrant voters via its letter […]
The apex court has asked parties and candidates to widely publicise criminal histories in local and national newspapers, as well as on social media, including Twitter and Facebook. The published material must list details of the offence, charges framed, etc. The party has to explain why the candidate was chosen despite the criminal taint. Merely […]
The Election Commission recently mooted connecting electoral expense limits to population and inflation; but will that create a level playing field between rich and poor candidates? “Indian politicians start their legislative careers with a lie — the false spending returns they submit? – Atal Bihari Vajpayee” Achchhe din (Good days) are here for at least one category of persons in India: […]