Electoral Bond Scheme: Rs 16,518 crore collected till date, Centre told LS

Electoral Bonds scheme verdict: On Thursday, the Supreme Court struck down the scheme and called it 'unconstitutional'

Electoral Bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore have been sold in 30 tranches via the State Bank of India (SBI), the Centre had told the Lok Sabha on February 5, days before the Supreme Court called them "unconstitutional".

In reply to a question asked by Congress member of Parliament Manish Tewari, Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state for Finance, said, "The total value of Electoral Bonds purchased (Phase-I to Phase –XXX) from State Bank of India is about Rs 16,518 crore."

Chaudhary added that the Centre has paid a commission of Rs 8.57 crore to the SBI for the issuance and redemption of Electoral Bonds for the first 25 phases. Moreover, it has paid Rs 1.90 crore to Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) to date.

The Centre notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018. Chaudhary said the main objective was "to ensure clean tax paid money is coming into the system of political funding through proper banking channel". However, the names of the donors remained anonymous and outside the ambit of the Right to Information.

These bonds were issued specifically for the contribution of funds to political parties and could only be bought at branches of the State Bank of India.

Also Read: SC says electoral bonds unconstitutional, asks SBI to submit all details

On Thursday, the Supreme Court struck down the scheme and called it "unconstitutional". In its verdict, the Apex court said that citizens have a right to know about the funding of their political parties as it is essential for making an informed electoral choice.

The SC also said that the financial support by a company may lead to a quid pro quo arrangement.

In its judgement, SC has asked the SBI to stop issuing electoral bonds and furnish the details of all the donations made via these bonds to the political parties with the Election Commission of India (ECI). The ECI has been ordered to publish the complete details on its website by March 31.