RBI governor maintains silence on electoral bonds
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has abstained from commenting on the electoral bond data, stating that the matter falls beyond the jurisdiction of the central bank. During a post-policy press conference on Friday, April 5, he stated, “Regarding electoral bonds, we refrain from providing comments. It’s a subject governed by a Supreme Court judgment, which must be adhered to. The State Bank of India has taken necessary action. The determination of contributors beyond their net worth does not fall within the RBI’s domain.”
This statement follows a unanimous decision by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on February 15, declaring the electoral bond scheme as “unconstitutional.” The court ruled that the scheme violated Article 19 of the Constitution by failing to disclose funding details.
Consequently, the Election Commission released comprehensive data on electoral bonds issued by the State Bank of India (the bank was the exclusive seller of this instrument), including unique alphanumeric identifiers linking donors to recipient political parties.
According to the disclosed data, the Bharatiya Janata Party was the primary beneficiary of the electoral bonds scheme, receiving Rs 6,061 crore in political donations over the past five years. This constitutes a massive 48 per cent of all electoral bonds issued to political parties since the financial year 2019-20.
The Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,610 crore, followed by the Indian National Congress with Rs 1,422 crore.
