New Delhi, March 22 -- Civil society activists, who contested the electoral funding scheme in the Supreme Court, alleged on Friday that 41 companies under investigation by the CBI, ED, and the I-T Department donated Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP via electoral bonds, with Rs 1,698 crore of this amount being donated post these agencies' raids.
Following the Election Commission's release of a new set of electoral bond data, Prashant Bhushan, the senior advocate representing the petitioners, stated that over Rs 143 crore worth of electoral bonds were purchased by at least 30 shell companies.
He further revealed that 33 groups, which received 172 significant contracts and project approvals from the government, also contributed through electoral bonds. He alleged that these groups received projects and contracts worth a total of Rs 3.7 lakh crore in return for Rs 1,751 crore in electoral bond donations to the BJP.
Bhushan also alleged that in at least 49 instances, the Centre or BJP-led state governments awarded Rs 62,000 crore in postpaid contracts/project approvals, for which Rs 580 crore in "kickbacks" in the form of electoral bonds were given to the BJP within three months.
Bhushan cited specific examples, claiming that the Kalpataru Group donated Rs 5.5 crore to the BJP within three months of an I-T Department raid on August 3 last year. He also mentioned that Future Gaming donated Rs 60 crore to the BJP within three months of I-T and ED raids on November 12, 2023, and December 1, 2021, respectively. Aurobindo Pharma was also cited, having allegedly donated Rs 5 crore to the BJP within three months of an ED raid on November 10, 2022.
Bhushan labelled the electoral bonds scheme as the biggest scam of Independent India, alleging four types of corruption through it: donation for business, extortion, contract for bribe, and shell companies.
Jagdeep Chhokar, another petitioner and Founder Member, and Trustee of the Association of Democratic Reforms, stated that the data released after the Supreme Court verdict is just the beginning. He asserted that the corporate-political nexus in the country cannot be denied post the verdict.
RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj, also a petitioner, called for an independent investigation into the matter, questioning who would investigate the investigators and suggesting the formation of an independent SIT to examine the corruption through electoral bonds. In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court declared the electoral bonds scheme "unconstitutional" and ordered the disclosure of all details related to the purchase and redemption of the bonds.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.