Political-funding through electoral bond after transparency: Friction is necessary evil

It refers to Supreme Court directing disclosure of names of contributors of electoral bonds which were started in complete opaqueness about contributors even though names of recipient-parties were disclosable and 95-percent funding was received by ruling BJP.

Small 5-percent might be for getting favours from state-governments ruled by non-BJP parties. Disclosure will expose contributors who have funded the ruling party obviously to get favour from the government, where it is now established that political funding is done as some indirect bribe for getting government-favour rather than for some public-good to promote democracy.

But after transparency is induced, contributions through electoral bonds will sharply decline because neither the ruling party nor the contributors to ruling party will like to be exposed, and again role of black money in electoral process will increase tremendously. In a way, opaque electoral bond was an evil necessary like friction is a necessary evil.

Only remedy to cut role of black money in election campaigns is to completely ban political rallies and road-shows which consume maximum money and resources of political parties, like banners and posters are now banned.

SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL