Electoral Bonds were introduced by the National Democratic Alliance in 2017, and it was later notified by Centre in 2018. The idea was to provide an alternative to cash donations made to political parties to bring transparency in political funding. While varied opinions over the viability of the scheme making headlines, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has given his insights on the said scheme.
According to a report by NDTV, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that the scrapping of Electoral Bonds scheme would open the gates for black money and all parties should think about developing a better system.
Here are five key quotes of Nitin Gadkari while he spoke to NDTV on Electoral Bonds Scheme
1) "Financial supports to political parties can lead to quid pro quo arrangement''
2) "If scheme is scrapped, electoral bonds will be purchased by people who are wealthy"
3) "If electoral bonds are banned, money would still come in, only in the form of black money"
4) "This scheme was made with the idea that parties would get money through bonds"
5) "Idea was to help push the economy if you want to make it number one"
Gadkari lauded MEIL in 2022
Meanwhile, a video that dates back to the year 2022 in which Union Nitin Gadkari lauded Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited has gone viral.
HW News shared a video of March 2022 in which Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road and Highways praised MEIL during a parliamentary session for its construction of the Zoji-la Tunnel near the Himalayas. The video of the same is now doing rounds on social media. He highlighted that the estimated cost for the tunnel project was Rs 12,000 crore, and expressed satisfaction that Megha Engineering, a Hyderabad-based company, had secured the contract. He noted that this decision resulted in a substantial saving of Rs 5,000 crore for the government.
Understanding the idea behind the scheme
Electrol Bond scheme was introduced by Government in 2018. 1. Legal entities i.e. a citizen or a registered Company can purchase these bonds from specified branches of State Bank of India. These bonds are like we giving someone a bearer cheque or DD or pay order. SBI issues these bonds by keeping payee’s name blank. The rule is the payee has to be necessarily a registered political party. This makes the purchaser of these bonds, i.e. the private companies to purchase & give it to political parties judiciously. Depending on number of Ministers in the present Loksabha - the bond money is proportionately donated. The Centre claims that this process is fully legal & no black money (cash) is involved.
Earlier huge cash used to be circulated secretly, incurring huge electoral expenses, compelling all to generate and operate through black money, severely affecting national economy.
