BJP's Donations Surge Post-Electoral Bonds Scrapping: Key Insights

सही उत्तर: B

Statement 1 is correct. The Supreme Court's primary rationale for striking down the scheme was that it violated the voters' right to information about political funding, which is an integral part of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). Statement 2 is incorrect. Both individuals and corporate entities were permitted to purchase electoral bonds. In fact, a significant portion of the bonds was purchased by corporate houses. Statement 3 is correct. A key feature of the Electoral Bond Scheme was the anonymity it provided to donors, as their identities were not disclosed to the public or the political parties receiving the funds, making it difficult to trace the source of funding. This anonymity was a major point of contention and a reason for the SC's judgment.

सही उत्तर: D

Statement 1 is correct. Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, mandates political parties to submit a report of contributions received to the Election Commission of India. While not explicitly 'audit reports' in the strict sense, they are statements of accounts and contributions that are subject to scrutiny. Statement 2 is correct. The FCRA, 2010, specifically prohibits political parties from accepting foreign contributions, aiming to prevent foreign interference in domestic politics. Statement 3 is correct. Electoral Trusts are indeed registered with the ECI and are required to disclose the names of donors who contribute above a specified amount (currently ₹20,000) to the ECI, which then makes this information public. This mechanism aims to bring some transparency to corporate donations.

सही उत्तर: D

Statement A is correct. Section 80GGC and 80GGB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, provide for tax exemptions on donations made to political parties by individuals and companies, respectively. Statement B is correct. As per Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, political parties are required to declare all donations exceeding ₹20,000 to the Election Commission of India. Statement C is correct. While the ECI's power to deregister parties is debated, it does have powers to enforce compliance with financial transparency norms and can recommend deregistration to the government for serious violations, though direct deregistration power is limited to specific grounds like registration obtained by fraud. Statement D is NOT correct. Corporate donations to political parties are regulated. While the cap on corporate donations (7.5% of average net profit of the preceding three financial years) was removed by the Finance Act 2017 (which introduced electoral bonds), the requirement for companies to disclose their political donations in their profit and loss accounts remains. The recent SC judgment has also brought back the previous cap. Therefore, they are not 'entirely unregulated' and had limits before the electoral bond scheme and now again after its scrapping.