(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hinted at the posibility of bringing back the electoral bonds scheme after proper consultation with stakeholders if voted to power speaking to HindustanTimes, she said,“We still have to do a lot of consultation with stakeholders and see what is it that we have to do to make or bring in a framework which will be acceptable to all, primarily retain the level of transparency and completely remove the possibility of black money entering into this.\" She did, however, added that the Union government has not yet decided whether to seek a review of the ruling made by the Supreme Court (SC).Also Read: 'India's map will change...': Parakala Prabhakar cautions against PM Modi's re-electionShe added,“What the current scheme which has been just thrown out by the Supreme Court brought in was transparency. What prevailed earlier was just free-for-all.”Also Read: 'Electoral bond issue not only biggest scam in India but...,' FM Nirmala Sitharaman's economist husband saysWhile acknowledging that certain aspects of the scheme needed improvement, FM Sitharaman also mentioned that they might be brought back in some form following“a good consultation.”Also Read: Electoral bonds data: Future Gaming donated ₹150 crore to YSR Congress, ₹50 crore to BJPThis is not the first time the finance minister has defended the electoral bonds scheme. Earlier she said that scheme was“one step better than what went before\". During an interview with The New Indian Express, Sitharaman had said, the BJP regime brought the law“to clean up electoral financing\".“Electoral funding will have to go through a lot more transparency.\"Meanwhile, the electoral bonds scheme was introduced by the central government on January 2, 2018 as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties to bring transparency in political funding. In February 2024, the five-judge constitution bench declared the central government's electoral bond scheme as unconstitutional.
MENAFN19042024007365015876ID1108117108
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.