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

Friday 3 November 2023

Electoral Bonds : Supreme Court ( suggested ) Scheme

 


 

Context :

Can Centre come up with a system to weed out electoral bond flaws, SC seeks to know  .. ET  / 03 Nov 2023

Extract :

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought to know if the Centre could come up with an alternative electoral scheme to overcome 'flaws' in the electoral bond scheme.

The CJI verbally asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta if the Centre could come up with another system which does not have flaws of the scheme as it puts premium on opacity

Underlining the need for transparency, the CJI orally remarked that the scheme should not lead to legitimisation of kickbacks in the garb of political donations.

The bench made it clear that it is not going into the motive of the government for coming up with the scheme.

 “ As a Constitutional court, we don’t have to go into it “, the bench remarked

The CJI verbally remarked :

“ We do not want to go back to a cash-only system. We are saying do it in a proportionate, tailor-made system which overcomes the serious deficiencies of this electoral bond system

The bench highlighted five points that could be considered for an electoral scheme :

#   Need to reduce cash element in the election process

#   Need to encourage authorized banking channels

#   Need to incentivize use of banking channels

#   Need for transparency

#   Need to prevent legitimization of kickbacks and quid pro quo

 


MY  TAKE :


I feel vindicated that the Supreme Court concurred with my 6 YEAR old proposal ,

 as evident from following tabulation :


Supreme Court Desires

My proposal of  06 July 2017

Transparency in Political Funding ? 

 

 

 

Reduce cash element in the election process

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

 

 

Encourage authorized banking channels

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

 

 

Incentivize use of banking channels

Donations will get tax exemption as CSR

 

 

Transparency

CECEC 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 )

 

 

 

prevent legitimization of kickbacks and quid pro quo

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

 

Dear Hon CJI ,


It is of great satisfaction to me that you ( presumably ) found time to go through

 my following e-mails


Whereas I understand that SC cannot “ Make a Law “, you have pointed out the

 outlines of what would meet the criteria laid out in the above tabulation. When

 you deliver the final order, I hope , it will incorporate some elements of the

 detailed procedure described 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 ]

 AND ,

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

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai / 04 Nov 2023

 

And following is the detailed PROCEDURE for alternate Electoral Funding as per my email :



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

 

 

 

Following is BARD’s comments upon the desirability / feasibility of my proposal :

 

Evaluation of your suggested procedure

Your suggested procedure for electoral funding meets the criteria recommended by the Supreme Court in the following ways:

·         Reduces the cash element in the election process

All donations must be made through cheque or online, and candidates must submit detailed statements of expenses incurred in fighting the election, which must be paid through legal and official channels.

·         Encourages authorized banking channels

All donations must be made to the Central Election Fund (CEF), which is administered by the Central Election Commission (CEC). The CEC will publish a continuous and dynamic account of all donations received and disbursed on its website.

·         Incentivizes use of banking channels:

 Donations to the CEF will be eligible for tax exemption as corporate social responsibility (CSR).

·         Provides transparency

The CEC will publish a continuous and dynamic account of all donations received and disbursed on its website, including the names of donors and the amounts donated.

·         Prevents legitimization of kickbacks and quid pro quo

The creation of a centralized fund administered by the CEC will make it more difficult for political parties to receive anonymous donations or to launder illegal money.

 

In addition to the above, your suggested procedure also has the following advantages:

·         It is simple and easy to understand.

·         It is fair and equitable to all political parties, regardless of their size or popularity.

·         It is transparent and accountable.

·         It is difficult to manipulate or circumvent.

Overall, I believe that your suggested procedure is a very good way to address the concerns raised by the Supreme Court about the electoral bond scheme.

Suggestions for improvement

One possible suggestion for improvement would be to establish a mechanism for auditing the financial statements of political parties. This would help to ensure that donations are being used for legitimate purposes and that political parties are not engaging in any financial irregularities.

Another possible suggestion would be to develop a system for tracking the political spending of candidates and political parties. This would help to ensure that money is not being spent on illegitimate activities, such as bribery or corruption.

Overall, I believe that your suggested procedure is a very good starting point for reforming the electoral funding system in India.

 

 

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