Electoral bonds order: Opposition hopes for revival riding on corruption charge against govt

The Supreme Court decision striking down the contentious electoral bond scheme of the government as unconstitutional has given the beleaguered opposition INDIA bloc – riven by internal dissension – an unexpected and much-needed political talking point, and an opportunity to aggressively add corruption to its armoury in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The Supreme Court order has asked the State Bank of India (SBI), the only one authorised to issue electoral bonds, to submit the details of bonds purchased since April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission within three weeks. The poll watchdog has to make public the information by March 13, which is when the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections would be gathering pace.

The timing, therefore, is crucial for the Opposition parties, which hope to frame the issue as one of corruption – on which they find themselves at the receiving end, even while struggling to pin their Adani-Ambani charge on the BJP.

Incidentally, at least three regional parties – the BJD, DMK and Trinamool Congress – have received almost all their funding through bonds, which virtually ensured anonymity of the donors till now. However, by sheer volume, the revelations regarding the BJP are expected to overpower the others.

Several Opposition leaders whom The Indian Express spoke to felt that while the larger issue of the citizens’ right to know is significant and hence the verdict is watershed, it is more of an academic debate on funding from a political point of view. Hence, they believe, the talking point should be on the quid pro quo aspect, and hope that the details of the donors and the recipient when revealed would prove a clincher.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been leading the party