BJP govt printed Electoral Bonds worth Rs 8,350 Cr after SC reserved verdict on scheme: RTI
New Delhi: A Right to Information (RTI) query by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra has revealed that the Narendra Modi government printed a substantial number of electoral bonds in 2024. Specifically, 8,350 electoral bonds valued at Rs 1 crore each were printed during this period. The bonds were printed after the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the constitutionality of the electoral bond scheme in November 2023.
The State Bank of India (SBI), the authorized bank for issuing electoral bonds, provided this information in response to Batra's RTI query.
The total value of these bonds, amounting to Rs 8,350 crores, exceeds the cumulative amount accumulated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through the scheme since its inception. According to data published by the Election Commission, the BJP has received Rs 8,251.8 crores in electoral bonds since 2018, constituting approximately 50% of all bonds sold during this period, totaling Rs 16,518 crore.
Previous RTI filings by Batra had already established that taxpayers, rather than donors or political parties, bear the expenses associated with printing and managing electoral bonds. The SBI had charged the government Rs 13.50 crore for its commission, printing, and other operational expenses related to the Electoral Bonds Scheme between 2018 and 2023.
The motivation behind printing a significant number of electoral bonds in 2024, despite the ongoing legal scrutiny of the scheme, remains a subject of speculation. Batra suggested that the government's confidence in the Supreme Court maintaining the status quo might have prompted this decision.
“It appears that the government was confident that the Supreme Court would maintain the status quo. That was why it went ahead with printing more bonds of Rs 1 crore,” Batra was quoted as saying in a The Wire’s report.
However, the Supreme Court's ruling on February 15 dealt a blow to the electoral bond scheme, declaring it unconstitutional and a violation of voters' right to information. Consequently, the court directed the SBI to furnish details of the bonds to the Election Commission. The cost incurred for printing and managing the additional 8,350 bonds this year is yet to be disclosed.
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Akola hottest in India at 46.9 deg C; Vidarbha under grip of heat wave
Nagpur (PTI): Akola in Maharashtra has recorded the highest temperature in the country at 46.9°C, while Nagpur and several other parts of Vidarbha reeled under a severe heat wave, MeT officials said on Monday.
Heat wave conditions are expected to persist across parts of the state's Vidarbha region till Tuesday, as maximum temperatures may reach 45 to 46 degrees Celsius and touch 47 degrees Celsius at isolated locations, they said.
On Sunday, Akola recorded 46.9 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in the country, followed by Amravati at 46.8 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Nagpur.
Wardha sizzled at 46.4 degrees Celsius, Yavatmal logged 46 degrees Celsius, Nagpur scorched at 45.4 degrees Celsius, while Chandrapur recorded 45 degrees Celsius, as per the data.
Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Nagpur experienced heat wave conditions, while several other districts reported above-normal temperatures, RMC scientist Dr Praveen Kumar told PTI.
The prevailing above-normal and persistently high temperatures over Vidarbha can be attributed to an anticyclonic circulation over Maharashtra and adjoining areas. At the same time, hot and dry northwesterly winds have been continuously affecting the region, he said.
In addition, weak western disturbances and the absence of moisture incursion or any significant weather systems have contributed to the intensification of heat over the region, the official said.
As per the Met department, heat wave conditions are likely to continue at a few or isolated places over the region till Tuesday.
The IMD has issued an 'orange' alert for Akola, Amravati and Wardha and a 'yellow' alert for Nagpur, Chandrapur and Yavatmal for Tuesday, saying that the maximum temperatures are likely to reach 45 to 46 deg C and possibly up to 47 deg C at isolated locations.
A relief from the heat wave is expected thereafter and the mercury is likely to dip by 2 to 3 deg C, with the possibility of rainfall and gusty winds in the coming days, it added.
The IMD grades the severity of any weather system through colour-coded alerts – green (no warning), yellow (be aware), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).
