Union Home Minister Amit Shah has thrown down the criticism to Rahul Gandhi, daring the Congress leader to admit that his party received funds through the now-defunct electoral bonds system. Responding to Gandhi’s repeated criticism of the scheme as “the world’s biggest extortion scheme” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “champion of corruption,” Shah asserted his position.
Shah highlighted that opposition parties, including the Congress, have benefited from donations via electoral bonds. He urged Gandhi to come clean and acknowledge whether these funds constituted extortion as well.
The senior BJP leader emphasized that the amount received by opposition parties, relative to their parliamentary representation, exceeds that of the ruling BJP.
The contentious electoral bonds, introduced by the Modi government in January 2018, allowed companies and individuals to contribute funds to political parties anonymously. However, the Supreme Court deemed the scheme unconstitutional in February of this year, leading to its abolishment.
In compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the State Bank of India (SBI), the intermediary for purchasing electoral bonds, was instructed to furnish detailed information to the Election Commission of India (ECI). This included data on donor-party connections, total funds received by political parties, and the extent of contributions from companies and individuals.
The ECI promptly uploaded this information onto its website, revealing that the BJP emerged as the largest beneficiary, having received funds amounting to ₹8251 crore, nearly half of the total ₹16,518 crore accumulated. Following closely behind was the Congress with ₹1952 crore, followed by the Trinamool Congress with ₹1705 crore.
Additionally, the disclosed data raised concerns as some contributing companies were under scrutiny by central agencies, fueling allegations that these donations were coerced by the ruling BJP. Such accusations have intensified the discourse surrounding the electoral bonds controversy.
In light of these developments, Shah reiterated the BJP’s stance, asserting that there are no corruption allegations against the party. He accused the opposition of attempting to sow confusion but expressed confidence that their efforts would be futile.
The confrontation between Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi underscores the ongoing debate surrounding electoral funding transparency and the ramifications of the electoral bonds scheme’s demise. As political parties continue to spar over accountability and integrity in fundraising, the implications of this controversy are likely to reverberate through the Bharatiya political landscape.
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