Chennai: Hailing the Supreme Court describing the Electoral Bonds Scheme, introduced by the BJP government in 2018, as unconstitutional, Chief Minister M K Stalin said that the order would ensure a ‘transparent electoral process and the integrity of the system.’
He was in fact leading the State in welcoming the Supreme Court verdict as all parties across the ideological spectrum expressed opinions on the lines of the Chief Minister, who, in a message on X, said: ‘This judgment has restored the democracy and level playing field for political parties. It has also ensured the common man’s faith in the system.’
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Edappadi K Palaniswami, too, welcomed the verdict. He was answering a reporter’s query outside the State Assembly on Thursday when he expressed a view in favour of the verdict
TNCC president, in a statement, said that the abolition of electoral bonds would ensure free and fair elections in the country and bring in a level playing field between political parties.
PMK founder S Ramadoss said the Supreme Court was right in its contention, particularly in the backdrop of money playing an important role in determining electoral outcomes, which in turn demanded certain transparency in donations to political parties.
CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan said the people should welcome the Supreme Court verdict pronounced by a five-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of India as the Electoral Bonds Scheme went against the Constitution and also agitated against the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The court order was a severe blow to the BJP which had been trying to paint an image of itself as a corruption-free politics, said K Balakrishnan, State secretary of the CPM, who pointed out how the court had demolished the argument that the scheme was introduced to do away with black money.
