Electoral Bonds Are Threat to Our Democracy : Lok Ummedwar Abhiyaan

Electoral bonds were first introduced by the Narendra Modi-led government through the Finance Bill 2017. It opens up new avenues for the collection of "hafta" (Dark money) by political parties. Due to its anonymity, it has become a preferred method of donation for industrialists, businessmen, wealthy individuals, and large corporations who want to influence the political process and seek favours from political parties.

It encourages corruption and the use of black money, posing a significant threat to transparency within our system. Electoral bonds can be utilized as a means to bribe political parties and exert influence over elections, thereby undermining the integrity of the process.

Mafia-like political parties are enjoying unethical privileges in the country, whereas an ordinary taxpayer is required to disclose all financial details to the government. To uphold the transparency and fairness in the system, electoral bonds should be abolished immediately.

Dr. Munish Raizada, Convener of Lok Ummedwar Abhiyaan, stated that to maintain a prosperous democracy in the nation, these bonds should be abolished without any further delay. He added if no one knows the source of the money, it is dark money rather than donation. Electoral bonds also violate the Right to Information (RTI) Act and undermine the accountability of political parties.

Lok Ummedwar Abhiyaan(Public Candidate) is a campaign committed to bring democratic reforms in the country. The main agenda of this campaign is to empower the NOTA option, abolish electoral bonds, implement one nation one election, introduce the right to recall, and ban big currency notes. It also supports other reforms that will make our democracy fairer and more representative. Read about all the reforms at www.luindia.org