National
Electoral bonds a way to legalise political corruption: CPI-M
New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The CPI-M, which has already challenged electoral bonds in the Supreme Court, on Saturday termed this method of political financing a way to legalising political corruption and a resort for trade-offs between political parties and corporates.
“CPI-M has always believed that first step to ending political corruption is to ban donations by corporates to political parties. This is the supply side of corruption … and unless this is plugged, political corruption cannot be ended.
“Instead of that, you (BJP) are legalising political corruption. Electoral bonds are nothing but legalisation of political corruption,” Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury told media here.
The Supreme Court on Friday had issued a notice to the centre on a CPI-M plea, which challenged the introduction of electoral bonds, which were operationalised earlier the same day through a notification.
“This (electoral bond system) is dangerous in the sense that any foreign company can also now donate to political parties and nobody knows who is donating it, which of the party is receiving it…
And they have removed earlier clauses and stipulations which had put a ceiling on the amount a corporate can donate to a political party… It means shell companies can be set up, money laundered,” Yechury said.
He condemned the bonds as violation of ‘right to know’ — as understood under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and Article 14 (Equality before Law) — brought for “perpetrating a fraud on the constitution by passing it as a money bill, even though it does not qualify as a Money Bill under Article 110 of the Constitution”.
He also criticised the amendments made to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) made through the Finance Bill 2018, which rendered valid all the foreign contributions to political parties made since 1976– the year FCRA was enacted.
“This again is a very very dangerous move whereby foreign companies — who owns them, who controls them, to what method are they raising their resources… It is very clear that these donations are a form of investments by the foreign companies for trade-offs and for deals. This is nothing but crony capitalism of a highest order,” said Yechury.
Demanding repeal of the electoral bonds, Yechury also suggested that corporates should be made to strengthen democracy through a law for the purpose.
“…. let there be law that defines a percentage of profit that must be given for strengthening of democracy and let this fund form a corpus which can form a system of state funding of elections. We see this in many western democracies. And this is process of state funding of political parties for electoral practices would be more transparent .. We can work out a mechanism,” he added.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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