homeindia NewsIndia's Chief Election Commissioner addresses SBI Electoral Bonds and EC appointment issues
India's Chief Election Commissioner addresses SBI Electoral Bonds and EC appointment issues
CEC Rajiv Kumar said SBI has submitted the required information on electoral bonds and that EC would review and disclose the data within the set timeframe. On the appointment process within the Election Commission, Rajiv Kumar said the matter falls under the purview of the government.
India's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has spoken about the matters concerning the State Bank of India (SBI) electoral bonds and the appointment process within the Election Commission (EC). He told CNBC-TV18 that the EC is "completely in favour of transparency".
"Anything we do in the commission is based on disclosure and transparency," he said. Regarding SBI's handling of electoral bonds, Kumar said the bank had been directed to furnish necessary details to the Supreme Court (SC). SBI, according to him, has submitted the required information within the stipulated timeframe and that EC would review and disclose the data within the set timeframe.
The SBI sent all electoral bonds data to the Election Commission on Tuesday evening, March 12, in keeping with the Supreme Court's order. The bank disclosed that a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were purchased between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, out of which 22,030 bonds were redeemed.
As per the SBI affidavit, electoral bonds were not encashed by political parties for 15 days in this period. It was transferred to the PM National Relief Fund.
State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the direction to disclose the Electoral Bonds data to the ECI has been complied with. The SBI Chairman stated that two files were given to the ECI in a pen drive, one with details of the purchasers, the date of purchase and the denomination of the bond, and the second with details of political parties which encashed the bonds.
On the appointment process within the Election Commission, Rajiv Kumar commented that this matter falls under the purview of the government. While emphasising the importance of timely appointments, he refrained from providing a specific timeframe for the process.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 13, agreed to hear pleas challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, on March 15, Friday.
Pleas were filed before the apex court seeking to restrain the government from appointing election commissioners under the new law, which has a collegium of the Prime Minister, a Cabinet Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
(Edited by : Amrita)
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