But last month India's top court struck down the scheme as unconstitutional,saying it violated the right of voters to know who was financing parties. The BJP had received slightly less than 48 percent of all election bondscashed by parties up to March 2023, amounting to around $730 million. More than half of all donations received by political parties since 2018 camein the form of electoral bonds, according to the Association for DemocraticReforms (ADR) advocacy group. Critics said the scheme reduced transparency by leaving the public unable toscrutinise whether donors had received political favours. Thursday's data release still does not map electoral bond buyers torecipients, leaving it unclear which individual and corporate donors werefunding which parties.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha March 15, 2024 06:00 UTC