Modi govt violated MCC by opening poll bond sales in November: Activist writes to EC

An activist has written to the Election Commission of India alleging that the Narendra Modi government has violated the Model Code of Conduct with its decision to open electoral bond sales – from November 6 to November 20 – ahead of assembly elections in five states.

The Electoral Bond Scheme, notified in January 2018, only allowed the sale of electoral bonds in January, April, July and October months in a non-Lok Sabha election year. But the Centre had introduced amendments last year to allow for more electoral bonds sales in years which saw assembly elections. These powers were reportedly used ahead of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls last year too. The activist’s letter comes days after the Supreme Court decided to reserve its verdict in the challenge to the electoral bonds scheme.

In his open letter on Wednesday marked to the Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioners and ECI Secretary, activist Commodore Lokesh Batra said that he was writing to “report the violation of MCC by the Centre” by “announcing and conducting a pan-India sale of electoral bonds from November 6 to November 20”. 

Batra noted that this was “after the Election Commission of India had already issued a press note on October 9, 2023 on the subject” with respect to the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and  Telangana. The activist said that paragraph 17 of the ECI’s note mentioned that the MCC shall “also be applicable to Union governments in so far as announcements/policy decisions pertaining to/for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana are concerned”.

He noted that the electoral bonds sales are being conducted when the MCC is in place since October 6 in the five states. “I most humbly request” the EC to immediately stop the sale and redemption process of the electoral bonds or “take appropriate action”, he wrote.

This report will be updated when the EC responds to Batra’s request.

Through an amendment in November last year, the government had inserted a new clause to the periodicity section of the act. The clause said that the scheme will provide “an additional period of 15 days” to sell bonds “in the year of general elections to the Legislative Assembly of States and Union Territories with Legislature”.

Electoral bonds, introduced controversially by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2017-18, have been criticised for reducing transparency of political funding in India.