Electoral bonds a scandal, move to annul them will lead to greater transparency: Amartya Sen

KOLKATA: Eminent economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s recent judgment annulling the electoral bonds scheme, denouncing it as a scandal.

Speaking to PTI from Massachusetts, USA, Sen said that the move will lead to greater transparency among people in the electoral context.

“Electoral bonds were a scandal, and I am glad that they have now been dropped. I hope there will be more transparency in the support that people give to each other in the electoral context,” Sen said.

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme earlier this month, citing violations of the Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression, as well as the right to information.

The apex court directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties to the Election Commission.

This information should include the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds and be submitted to the poll panel by March 6.