CEC: Will ensure privacy of donors

New Delhi, March 16

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The CEC Rajiv Kumar emphasised the need to ensure protection of privacy of those donating via electoral bonds.

His comments have come in the light of the Election Commission of India (ECI) sharing the data on electoral bonds, in accordance with the directives of the Supreme Court, which has scrapped the mechanism that allows anonymous political funding, calling it “unconstitutional”.

Replying to a question on electoral bonds, Kumar said, “As far as electoral bonds are concerned, the Commission has always been in favour of transparency. In a democracy there is no scope for hiding things, it is all about making everybody know that we are all for transparency. This is the first part of the exercise that it must be known, the country now has to ask and find solutions through an institutional mechanism where the donor’s privacy is also considered,” he said.

“We are very particular about controlling unaccounted money used during elections, but how do we also control donations in the unaccounted form is something which the entire nation needs to work together. The donor’s privacy also needs protection, so that he or she is not harassed,” he added.