India's Minister Nitin Gadkari has spoken about the necessity of funding in politics and the good intentions behind the Electoral Bond scheme. On Friday, he mentioned that the sustainability of political parties is not feasible without financial backing. While the scheme initiated in 2017 with positive motivations, the Supreme Court has now declared it unconstitutional.
For more insights,
'All political parties must collaborate and deliberate together,'
states BJP's senior leader after the Supreme Court's guidance might call for a collective discussion among political factions. At an event held near Gandhinagar's GIFT City, Gadkari reminisced being part of discussions regarding Electoral Bonds during the tenure of the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He emphasized that no party could function without resources and while some countries provide government funds to political parties, India lacks such a system.
In response to a question about Electoral Bonds, Gadkari expressed the intention was to financially bolster political parties by allowing them direct funds, preserving donor anonymity to avoid potential problems when power transitions. Political entities need financial resources for operations, he asserted.
SC Had Annulled Electoral Bond Scheme
Gadkari articulated that Electoral Bonds were introduced to foster transparency. He hopes for a consensus among all parties in case the Supreme Court pinpoints any shortcomings in the scheme. After all, without funds, parties cannot perform any activities. The court had nullified the Electoral Bonds scheme last week, just prior to the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May.
