Electoral bonds LIVE highlights: BJP redeemed bonds worth ₹6061 cr followed by TMC
- Electoral bonds LIVE highlights: Future Gaming and Hotel Services holds the position of top buyer of electoral bonds, acquiring bonds valued at ₹1368 crore.
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: The Election Commission of India complied with the Supreme Court's directives on Thursday by uploading the electoral bonds data provided by the State Bank of India (SBI) onto its website. The data is divided into two parts: the first, spanning 337 pages, includes information about the entities purchasing the electoral bonds along with the purchase dates; the second, comprising 426 pages, details the political parties, dates, and amounts involved. However, the data does not specify which entity purchased bonds for which political party....Read More
According to data, the top five buyers of electoral bonds, ranging from a lottery company operating in various states to a firm involved in constructing the Kaleshwaram dam, as well as prominent industrial conglomerates, collectively expended more than ₹3,446 crore from April 2019 to February 2024.
What are electoral bonds?
The electoral bond scheme, initiated in the fiscal year 2017-18, served as a means for Indian political parties to obtain funding or donations. However, in February, the Supreme Court invalidated the scheme. Since its inception in 2018, the State Bank of India has issued bonds totalling ₹16,518 crore across 30 tranches.
Who are the top donors?
• Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited, led by Santiago Martin, nicknamed the "Lottery King" emerged as the top donor, contributing bonds valued at ₹1,368 crore.
• Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), founded by 67-year-old Pamireddy Pitchi Reddy in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district and headquartered in Hyderabad, secured the second spot by purchasing electoral bonds worth ₹891 crore.
• Mumbai-based Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd holds the third position, contributing ₹410 crore via electoral bonds.
• Vedanta Private Limited, an industrial conglomerate founded by Anil Agarwal, diversified across various sectors such as mining, technology, and power, ranked fourth in donations, acquiring bonds totalling ₹400 crore over five years.
• Haldia Energy Limited, a subsidiary of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, stood as the fifth highest donor in the electoral bond scheme, investing ₹377 crore in bonds.
Which parties are recipients?
• Political parties such as BJP, Congress, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JDS, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, and SP have received funds through electoral bonds.
• The BJP is the top recipient, obtaining over ₹6,061 crore through electoral bonds, while the TMC received ₹1,610 crore. The Congress received ₹1,422 crore through this funding mechanism.
• Following closely is the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) with a total of ₹1,215 crore received via electoral bonds. The Biju Janta Dal (BJD) obtained funding of ₹776 crore through this channel.
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- 15 Mar 2024, 12:01:16 PM IST
Electoral bonds data LIVE highlights: Top three political parties who received funds
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the top recipient among all political parties through the electoral bonds scheme, receiving the highest sum.
- The BJP redeemed bonds worth ₹6061 crore, securing the leading position in terms of funds obtained.
- The Trinamool Congress ranked second on the list, receiving bonds worth ₹1610 crore.
- The Congress claimed the third spot, acquiring bonds worth ₹1422 crore.
- 15 Mar 2024, 01:05:06 PM IST
Electoral bonds LIVE: Key legal queries by SC during electoral bonds scheme judgment
Electoral bonds LIVE: The Supreme Court reprimanded SBI on Monday for requesting more time to provide electoral bonds details, instructing the bank to disclose the information to the Election Commission by the end of business hours on Tuesday.
As a result, SBI's plea for an extension until June 30, 2024, to disclose electoral bond details from April 12, 2019, to February 15, 2024, was rejected. The ECI had to publish the details on its website by before. 5 pm on Friday, March 15.
Here are the two legal questions formulated by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court during the delivery of the judgment -
- Whether unlimited corporate funding to political parties, as envisaged by the amendment to Section 182(1) of the Companies Act infringes the principle of free and fair elections and violates Article 14 of the Constitution
- Whether the non-disclosure of information on voluntary contributions to political parties under the Electoral Bond Scheme and the amendments to Section 29C of the RPA, Section 182(3) of the Companies Act and Section 13A(b) of the IT Act are violative of the right to information of citizens under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
- 15 Mar 2024, 12:53:47 PM IST
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: Bar Association writes to CJI, saying disclosing details will ‘victimise’ donors. What else did it mention?
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: Here is what the All India Bar Association (AIBA) mentioned in its letter to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud regarding the disclosure of donor details in the “electoral bond scheme”-
• There is a possibility that corporate donors could be targeted by political parties that received fewer or no contributions from them, leading to potential harassment if the names and donation amounts are disclosed.
• This disclosure would violate the promise made to donors when they voluntarily contributed.
• At the time of donation, corporate donors were aware that their identity, donation amount, and recipient party details would remain confidential.
• This confidentiality provision was established to protect donors from victimisation by political parties to whom they did not donate under the scheme.
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- 15 Mar 2024, 12:43:47 PM IST
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: Bar Association writes to CJI to review judgement of disclosing donors
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: The All India Bar Association (AIBA) penned a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Thursday, urging a suo motu review of the Judgment concerning the electoral bonds scheme, specifically focusing on the disclosure of donors' identities and contributions, news agency ANI reported.
Adish Aggarwala, the Chairman of AIBA and also the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and former Vice-Chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), said that disclosing the names of corporate donors and the amounts of their contributions “could potentially expose them to victimisation.”
- 15 Mar 2024, 12:34:07 PM IST
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: Congress leader Manickam Tagore says ‘BJP tried its best…’
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: Congress leader Manickam Tagore attacked the ruling BJP today, saying that the party tried its best to delay the disclosure of electoral bond details, news agency ANI reported. Here is more of what he said -
• Manickam Tagore remarked that the BJP had attempted to delay the disclosure of Electoral Bonds but was compelled to do so following a Supreme Court order.
• According to him, this revelation indicates a pattern wherein among the 1,300 companies purchasing electoral bonds, ₹6,000 crores were directed to the BJP. He suggested that this pattern suggests a potential scam, pointing out that the donating companies have subsequently received projects.
• Regarding the appointment of election commissioners, he noted that the Election Commission previously had independent commissioners. Tagore further said since the rise of PM Modi and Amit Shah in Delhi, there has been a concerted effort to influence and control the Election Commission, which is evident in the appointment of loyalists to the commission.
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- 15 Mar 2024, 12:20:20 PM IST
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin firm donated ₹1368 crore. Know about him
Electoral bonds LIVE updates: The largest donations came from Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited, managed by Santiago Martin, famously known as the "Lottery King".
• Between 2019 and 2024, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited contributed ₹1368 crore.
• Santiago Martin's journey began as a labourer in Yangon, Myanmar. Upon returning to India in 1988, he launched a lottery business in Tamil Nadu. Over time, he expanded operations to Karnataka, Kerala, and eventually the northeast.
• Since 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating the company for alleged violations of the PMLA law. Raids were conducted in Coimbatore and Chennai in May 2023.
- 15 Mar 2024, 12:08:54 PM IST
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: Kapil Sibal says ‘SIT should be constituted to probe’, questions funds to PM-CARES
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: After the State Bank of India (SBI) disclosed data on the electoral bonds issued by various private firms to fund political parties, Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal today said that a Special Investigation Team probe must be ordered on this and also questioned the funds allocated to PM-CARES, launched during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Like it was done in 2G case, where an SIT was made, in this case also an SIT should be constituted to probe the matter. We have to see how the law will see it now...It should also be found out who donated to the PM-CARES. It's a matter of investigation which party got how many funds,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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- 15 Mar 2024, 11:53:42 AM IST
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: Here is the list of top donors of electoral bonds according to data provided by SBI
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: The Election Commission of India (ECI) uploaded the list of electoral bonds issued from April 2019 to February 2024 on Thursday. Here is the list of the top 10 donors -
- Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR - ₹ 1,368 crore
- Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd - ₹ 966 crore
- Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd - ₹ 410 crore
- Vedanta Ltd - ₹ 400 crore
- Haldia Energy Ltd - ₹ 377 crore
- Bharti Group - ₹ 247 crore
- Essel Mining & Industries Ltd - ₹ 224 crore
- Western UP Power Transmission Company Ltd - ₹ 220 crore
- Keventer Foodpark Infra Ltd - ₹ 195 crore
- Madanlal Ltd - ₹ 185 crore
- 15 Mar 2024, 11:46:16 AM IST
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: A brief explanation of recent developments
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: Before delving into the intricate details of the 'electoral bonds' topic, which we have been hearing so much about lately, let's take a brief look at what has happened…
• Former finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the electoral bonds scheme during the 2017 Budget session. It was officially notified in January 2018 as a method of political funding through money bills amending the Finance Act and the Representation of the People Act.
• However, last month, the Supreme Court declared the scheme unconstitutional, leading to its annulment. Subsequently, the court requested the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide details of electoral bonds issued by various private entities.
• On Tuesday, the SBI submitted the electoral bond details to the Election Commission, following the court's rejection of the bank's plea for an extension.
• Additionally, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to publish the information shared by the bank on its official website by 5 pm on March 15.
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- 15 Mar 2024, 11:37:09 AM IST
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: SC issues notice to SBI, says ‘bond numbers’ not disclosed
Electoral bonds data LIVE updates: The Supreme Court today said that the State Bank of India (SBI) ought to have revealed the “unique alphanumeric identifiers” of the electoral bonds received by political parties.
In response to an application by the Election Commission (EC) seeking a modification of its March 11 order in the electoral bonds case, a five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, directed the court registrar (judicial) to ensure the scanning and digitisation of data previously submitted by the EC in a sealed cover.
This process is bound to be completed by 5 pm on Saturday, after which the original documents will be returned to the EC.