Rbi and ec working in tandem to eradicate cash woes to candidates

Rbi and ec working in tandem to eradicate cash woes to candidates

It is welcome that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has averted a showdown with the Election Commission (EC). The EC’s request to the central bank last week to raise the weekly cash withdrawal limit for candidates in five states that are going to polls from Rs 24,000 to Rs 2 lakh met with an indifferent response.
The EC followed this up with a sterner demand to raise the limit. The central bank has complied, albeit obliquely. It has removed all restrictions on cash withdrawals from current accounts. It only remains for the RBI to instruct banks to make sure that no candidate in any poll-bound state faces any procedural hassle in opening a current account for the purpose of routing election expenses.
Had the RBI continued to drag its feet, it would have been accused of complicity in a gamble to disrupt free and fair conduct of democratic elections, in a nation that prides itself as the largest democracy.
The EC, whose independence under statute and conduct of elections has become a global benchmark, sets down spending limits for every candidate in polls. The law says that each contestant in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand can spend Rs 28 lakh legitimately as election expenses. For Goa and Manipur, smaller states, this limit is Rs 20 lakh for each assembly seat.
Punjab and Goa vote on February 4. Electronic payments are a desirable goal, not a realised practice, in most parts of India. A cup of tea or a samosa or a bus ride on the campaign trail cannot be paid for by cheque or any digital platform.
Candidates have not raised a fuss, however. They routinely spend far in excess of EC limits and have mobilised the needed cash resources, in any case. The tussle between EC and the RBI was one of principle. Thanks to some adroit action by the central bank, that is behind us now.