look news india
After the strictness of the Supreme Court, State Bank of India (SBI) has handed over the data of electoral bonds to the Election Commission. Now SBI has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in this matter. SBI has told the court that details regarding the election bonds have been provided to the Commission.
2 PDF files and pen drives handed over
SBI CMD Dinesh Khara has told the Supreme Court that he has followed the court's order. SBI has prepared a report on purchases and sales of electoral bonds, containing all relevant information including names of buyers and provided the same to the Commission in a timely manner. SBI, in its affidavit, said the bank handed over the material through a pen drive and two PDF files in a sealed envelope, which were password protected. Electoral bonds which have not been paid to any party. Its amount has been deposited in the PM Relief Fund.
Money that was not cash bonds..
In this affidavit, the bank has stated through data that a total of 22217 electoral bonds have been sold from April 1, 2019 to February 15, 2024. Out of which 22030 have been redeemed. Of which 187 have not been paid. Apparently, as per the rules, these have been deposited in the PM Relief Fund.
What is the matter?
It is noteworthy that earlier, SBI had appealed to the Supreme Court to extend the deadline for sharing information related to electoral bonds till June 30. But the court rejected SBI's demand and asked it to share all the information with the Election Commission by March 12. Earlier, the Supreme Court had termed the electoral bond scheme as 'unconstitutional'. SBI was also asked to submit all the details to the Election Commission by March 6. On this, SBI asked for time till June 30. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court rejected SBI's demand and ordered the Election Commission to provide all the information by March 12. Also, the Election Commission has been asked to upload all this information on the website by 5 pm on March 15.
What is an electoral bond?
In the year 2017, the Central Government had announced the Electoral Bond Scheme. It was legally implemented on 29 January 2018. The government said the scheme was launched to bring in 'clean' money and increase 'transparency' in election donations. Electoral bonds of different amounts are issued from 29 branches of SBI. This amount can range from one thousand to one crore rupees. Anyone can buy it and donate it to the political party of their choice.