Amid a raging debate over electoral bonds, Arvind Panagariya said he prefers the now-scrapped scheme for keeping black money away from political funding. The Supreme Court on Monday directed SBI to stop being “selective” and make a “complete disclosure” of all details on the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme by March 21. The details to be disclosed include the unique bond numbers that will reveal the link between buyers and recipient political parties, an aspect that has made India Inc uneasy.
Panagariya, the 16th Finance Commission Chairperson, cited former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's defence for bonds to back his preference in an interview to NDTV Profit. In 2018, as finance minister, Jaitley, called it (electoral bonds) a step towards curbing the flow of black money into the funding of political parties.
Bonds reduced the role of black money despite being "half transparent," he said. Donations can be traced back to corporations, a benefit cash does not offer. To a question if this will lead to situation where one gets transparency on who donated to whom and how much, he said, "looks like a distant possibility."