RELEASING the names of those who purchased electoral bonds would be a “breach of promise” made by the government and in violation of bank confidentiality norms but the Centre is unlikely to contest Thursday’s landmark Supreme Court verdict that struck down the scheme as “unconstitutional,” government sources have told The Indian Express. The view in the establishment is that the fraught issue of poll funding in the wake of the apex court’s order should be left to the next government which may “consider” alternative ways to “better the election funding system”, sources said. With the 15th session of the 17th Lok Sabha already prorogued and election notification barely weeks away, sources said, the government is neither considering filing a review petition nor issuing an ordinance to put in a new funding system. However, the source added that “the PIL (Public Interest Litigation ) route” can be used by someone. Although the official BJP line on Thursday was that the electoral bond scheme was initiated to bring in transparency in political funding, sources pointed out that the scheme was introduced to get rid of black money in election spending. “Until 2017, it was unregulated cash play. The scheme was brought in to improve the election funding system from the murky, unregulated way to the use of white money,” said a source. The secrecy element, the source said, was introduced to avoid “difficulties” for the donors by the local government or administration if they were adversarial. “We wanted to improve the system, but we could not let industries be harassed by local governments depending on who they were donating to,” the source added. There is a view in the government that the Supreme Court judgment, delivered by the Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, stopped short of offering a way out. “The parties and leaders who have black money can now spend it. We will be back to the good old cash payment system,” said the source. The court has also directed that “the issuing bank shall herewith stop the issuance of electoral bonds” and asked the State Bank of India (SBI) to “submit details of the electoral bonds purchased since the interim order of the court dated April 12, 2019, till date to the Election Commission of India (ECI).” On Thursday, The Indian Express had reported that officials in the Election Commission are confident that, following the court’s order, the release of the names will be very much possible by March 13. “We haven’t yet had the opportunity to read the order in detail but it’s abundantly clear to us that SBI will have to share the names of those who purchased electoral bonds. So there’s no doubt about it,” said an EC official who requested anonymity. What remains uncertain at this moment is whether the data shared by SBI will be presented in a format that helps one match the bond buyer to the political party that received the same bond. “Irrespective of whether the format is reader-friendly or not, finding out the identity of the donor and recipient will not be impossible. It may just mean a lot of work for people interested in finding out the same,” the official added. Significantly, SBI has in its custody the names, Aadhaar, and PAN card details of everyone who has bought an electoral bond, irrespective of the denomination. EC officials added that it was premature to comment on whether the Commission would disclose the details shared by SBI as received, or if the Commission would choose to present them in a manner that is easily understandable.
