Ahead of the Bihar election, the government on Friday approved the 14th tranche of electoral bonds which will be open for sale between October 19 to October 28
The Election Commission of India (ECI) accorded 'no objection' from the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) angle on October 15 with certain conditions, a finance ministry statement said
The EC submitted the affidavit in the pleas filed by an NGO and others seeking a stay on the Centre's Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018
India's richest 1 per cent hold more than four-times the wealth held by 953 million people who make up for the bottom 70 per cent of the country's population, while the total wealth of all Indian bill
As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India
'During the financial year 2018-19, only the BJP, Congress and Trinamool Congress have declared receiving an income from contribution through electoral bonds, a total of Rs 1931.43 crore' ADR said
Electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India
She said the Committee of the Central Board (CCB) of RBI in its meeting held on October 11, 2017 indirectly agreed for electoral bonds to be issued if it is done by the SBI.
Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, said the scheme needed to be stayed as it had become akin for accepting bribe, money laundering and channelisation of black money
So far in FY20, a total of Rs 3,355.93 crore worth of electoral bonds have been sold. This is higher than in the entire previous financial year, when Rs 2,550.78 crore's worth were sold
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged public sector companies like BSNL and MTNL, which were making profits under the previous UPA 1 and 2 governments, were now running at losses
In case a political party receives a political donation in cash primarily, then that might actually indicate a scam, he stated
Taking a dig at the Opposition led by the Congress, he said that there was a pattern to some people raising issues just before every parliamentary session
Ministry was reluctant to assign serial numbers initially, but relented after SBI raised concerns about internal control and reconciliation
The government said these bonds were the least bad option in a menu that comprised only of bad options. It was probably right
The party also sought an early decision on the issue by the Supreme Court on the legality of these bonds
"This is a big scam. The country is being looted. Please allow us to speak," Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said
Parliament Winter Session 2019: Opposition parties have used the Winter Parliament to attack the government over economic slowdown, farmer distress and the situation in Kashmir.
Describing electoral bonds as a 'political bribery scheme', the opposition party said it was a scam that tarnished the image of the Indian democracy
What we are talking about today leads straight to the PM's Office, Ghulam Nabi Azad said