Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Wednesday, 11 October 2023

Electoral Bonds ? Here is a Supreme Scheme

 


 

Context :

Electoral bond pleas to be heard on Oct 31…………………… HT / 11 Oct 2023

Extract :

After a gap of more than two years, the Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed October 31 and November 1 to finally hear a clutch of petitions that have challenged the validity of the central government’s electoral bonds (EB) scheme as a source of political funding.

A bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, clarified that the arguments in the matter will be wrapped up over the two dates , directing the Centre and other parties to submit their written submissions in the meantime.

 

Dear Hon CJI , Shri Chandrachudji ,

As an Indian Citizen, I am deeply concerned – and affected by – with the current ELECTORAL BONDS scheme

On various occasions in the past few years, as a “ OTHER PARTY “ , I have sent to you e-mails , voicing my reservations re the current scheme and , even suggested at some length, an ALTERNATE SCHEME , which is :

#   Totally TRANSPARENT - including to the public , which has a right to know ,            WHO ( a Company – any   individual or any other entity ), has given by way

      of DONATIONS , how much money to WHOM and WHEN

      #    Absolutely FAIR to everyone concerned


I submit my scheme once again with a request to club it with several other PILs that you would be hearing on Oct 31 / Nov 1

Here it is :

Ø  Transparency in Political Funding ? ……………………….. 06 July 2017 

 

Extract :


I request Shri Jaitleyji to consider following suggestion :

 

STRUCTURE

 

No direct donations ( even Rs 5 ) by anyone to any Political Party or to any Political Leader ( even as birth-day gift ! )

  

·   Creation of a CENTRAL ELECTION FUND CEF ) , controlled / administered by the Central Election Commission

 

 

·   Donations can only be given to CEF – and only by cheque / online etc , quoting Aadhar number

 

 

 

·   Donations will get tax exemption as CSR

 

 

·   CEC will publish , on its web site , a continuous / dynamic / daily ACCOUNT of

    amounts received ( with Aadhar No of each donor ) and amounts spent /

    disbursed by CEC to Political Parties / Candidates ( with full details of each )

 

 

·   From CEF , Election Commission will distribute FUNDS to political parties for fighting elections / other expenses , on predetermined ‘ Occasions 

 

     PROCESS

 

·   Funding of Political Parties by CEC ( from CEF ) , can be made as per following two alternatives :

  

[ A ]    AFTER  THE  ELECTION ( CANDIDATE – based Reimbursements ) :

 

#  After each Election ( Central / State / Municipal ) , ALL candidates contesting

    the election ( including independent candidates ) , shall submit to CEC ,

    a STATEMENT of EXPENSES incurred in fighting the election.

 

Even if a group of parties have come together to fight the election (

 MahaGathBandhan ), each candidate will get linked to ONE party only

 

  

#  Statement will be as per format decided by CEC , giving category-wise expense

    details ( all payments listed in the statement , must be through legal / official

    channels , such as Cheque / Electronic Bank Transfer / Mobile Wallets etc )

 

  

#  There will be UPPER LIMITS of REIMBURSEMENT for each category of expense

    and an overall limit

 

#  The statement will also show the “ Sources of Funds “ ( with full details such as

    OWN or borrowed from CLOSE RELATIVEs , with names )

 

  

#  Actual amount to be reimbursed to each candidate , will be computed based on

    a number of factors , main factor being the “ percentage of popular votes

    polled “ by that candidate ( no reimbursement for those candidates who get

    less than 5 % of popular vote )

 

  

#  Actual re-imbursements made by CEC , shall not be counted as INCOME of that

    candidate , for Income Tax purpose

 

  

[ B ]   BEFORE  THE  ELECTION ( PARTY – wise ADVANCES ) :

 

# Before each election , All recognized Political Parties will get ADVANCES from

   CEF , computed using a TRANSPARENT , mathematical formula , based on

   following factors :

 

 

# FACTORS with POSITIVE WEIGHTAGE :

 

·    In all the elections since independence ( Central + States + Municipal )

   , percentage of popular votes polled by each party in those elections along with

     the percentage of seats won by each party

 

 

·     Number of years for which the party has been recognized by CEC

 

 

·   Cumulative number of “ Days “ ( not months or years ) , each party was in power ( Centre + States + Municipality ) since independence

 

 

·    No ( or percentage ) of seats “ won “ in each election

 

  

     #   FACTORS with NEGATIVE WEIGHTAGE :

 

 ·         No of MPs / MLAs having criminal cases pending against them

 

 ·         No of times candidates / parties were “ warned “ by CEC ( for any reason )

  

·              No of years for which Annual Return NOT filed with EC

  

·              No of candidates / Legislators convicted by a Court

 

Dear Hon Shri Chandrachudji ,


My other emails on this subject are listed below :


     Make Me A Party…………………………….. [ 03 Oct 2017 ]

  Electoral Bonds for Transparency ?.. [ 03 Jan 2018 ]

  Don’t Disclose Donations …………………[ 04 Jan 2018 ]

  Of Electoral Bondage ?................... [ 30 Mar 2019 ]

  Please Hear and Read too……………….. [ 19 Mar 2021 ]

  Thank You for “ Reading “/“ Asking “ [ 24 Mar 2021 ]

        But what is info in “sealed cover“?.....[ 05 July 2021 ]

 

Ø  Electoral Bonds Fully Transparent ?  Not to Public……………  22 Nov 2022

 

Extract :

I urge you to forward my suggestion of 06 July 2017 , to the Petitioners and the

Central Government, and tell them to submit on 06 Dec 2022 ( next date for

hearing ), their OBJECTIONS if any, to my suggestion


You may also ask them to submit in writing, MODIFICATIONS if any, to my

suggestion


This REFORM for funding of Political Parties has assumed TOP PRIORITY

considering that :


Ø  General Elections are due in another 14 months ( Feb 2024 ? )


     Ø  In addition, during 2024 itself, following 7 States have their MLA

         elections :

Andhra Pradesh

Sikkim

Arunachal Pradesh

Odisha

Haryana

Maharashtra

Jharkhand

 

Ø  Following 9 States have their Legislative Elections due in 2023 :

1.     Meghalaya

2.     Nagaland

3.     Tripura

4.     Karnataka

5.     Chhattisgarh

6.     Madhya Pradesh

7.     Mizoram

8.     Rajasthan

9.     Rajasthan

 

Following how BARD reacted to my scheme :

 

Evaluation of a transparent scheme for election funding suggested by an Indian citizen to the Supreme Court:


Transparency

The suggested scheme is highly transparent, as it requires all donations to be made to a central election fund (CEF) controlled by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The ECI would then publish a continuous, dynamic, and daily account of all donations received and disbursed. This would allow the public to see who is donating money to political parties and how much money is being donated.

Fairness

The suggested scheme is also fair, as it treats all political parties equally. All parties would be eligible to receive funding from the CEF, based on a transparent formula. This would help to level the playing field and reduce the influence of money in politics.

Other benefits

In addition to being transparent and fair, the suggested scheme would also have a number of other benefits. For example, it would:

·        Reduce the amount of black money used in politics.

·        Make it more difficult for foreign interests to influence Indian elections.

·        Increase public trust in the political system.

Overall, the suggested scheme is a well-designed and transparent system for election funding.

It would be a significant improvement over the current system, which is opaque and allows for undue influence of money in politics.

Specific comments on the suggested scheme:

·        The suggestion to make reimbursements to candidates based on the percentage of popular votes polled is a good one. This would ensure that parties and candidates that are supported by the people are able to receive funding.

·        The suggestion to give negative weightage to factors such as the number of MPs/MLAs with criminal cases pending against them is also a good one. This would help to discourage political parties from nominating candidates with criminal records.

·        One possible concern with the suggested scheme is that it could lead to the over-concentration of power in the hands of the ECI. However, this concern could be addressed by giving the ECI clear guidelines on how to distribute funding to political parties.

Overall, the suggested scheme is a well-designed and transparent system for election funding.

It would be a significant improvement over the current system.

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai  /  12 Oct 2023

 

 

   

 

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