Voters need not know the funding source of parties, A-G tells court

Voters do not need to know where political parties get their funds from, the government argued in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The court cannot “kill” the electoral bonds scheme for the sake of transparency, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said. He argued that electoral bond was an experiment to eradicate the evil of black money. The court should not intervene now.

The government position was starkly in contrast to the stand of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Twenty-four hours ago, the ECI submitted to the court that electoral bonds had legalised the anonymity of political donors and the parties receiving contributions. It said the right to vote meant the right to make an informed choice. Knowing the candidate was only “half the exercise”. The voters should also know the source of funding of parties who put up these candidates. “It is more important to know the principal than the agent,” its counsel and senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi submitted.

To this, Mr. Venugopal countered on Thursday: “Their contention is that voters have a right to know. Right to know what? Voters do not need to know where money of political parties comes from.”