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On Thursday, the Election Commission of India took a significant step by uploading the latest electoral bond data onto its website, in accordance with the directives of the Supreme Court. The data, submitted by the State Bank of India (SBI), provides crucial insights into the controversial electoral bond scheme.
According to the poll watchdog, the electoral bond data was uploaded on its website “as is where is basis,” reflecting the information received from SBI. This move underscores the Election Commission’s commitment to transparency in electoral funding.
“In compliance of Hon’ble Supreme Court’s directions, SBI has provided data pertaining to electoral bonds to ECI today ie March 21, 2024,” stated the Election Commission in a post on X.
The data shared by the Election Commission includes two PDFs containing comprehensive details of electoral bond transactions. The documents outline the purchaser’s name, bond denomination, specific number, as well as the recipient political party’s name, last four digits of the bank account number, and details of the encashed bonds.
However, it’s notable that the complete bank account numbers and KYC details of political parties that redeemed the bonds have been withheld by the bank, citing security concerns. SBI emphasized that while such details are not essential for identifying political parties, their disclosure could jeopardize account security and expose them to cyber threats.
“The complete bank account numbers and KYC details of the political parties are not being made public as it may compromise the security of the account (cyber security),” clarified Dinesh Kumar Khara, the bank’s chairperson, in an affidavit.
Similarly, the KYC details of purchasers were not disclosed, with the bank highlighting security reasons and the absence of such information in its system.
This disclosure by the Election Commission follows the recent directives from the Supreme Court, which urged SBI to provide complete details of electoral bonds without any selective disclosures. The apex court emphasized the importance of transparency in the electoral process and underscored the obligation of SBI to fully disclose all relevant information related to the scheme.
As the debate over electoral bonds continues to unfold, this development marks a significant milestone in efforts to enhance transparency and accountability in political funding, setting a precedent for greater scrutiny and public access to crucial electoral finance data.
