Why bonds do not address key issues in electoral funding

Transparent disclosure is vital in an emerging democracy where crony capitalism has haunted policy-making for decades

The National Democratic Alliance’s framework for electoral bonds is a well-meaning but flawed exercise that does little to clean up political funding in a meaningful way. For one, it is unclear how retaining the feature of anonymity for the purchaser of these bonds will enhance transparency, which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley claims is the primary aim of this move. It is true that businesses do not want the donors named but the logic given by the state for accepting such demands is not clear. Ironically, potential donors are unlikely to be drawn by the assurance of anonymity either, given the