“The Congress also received the electoral bonds, is that also extortion?” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in an exclusive interview with NDTV on Friday. Shah said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi must also tell the people that his party, too, has “extorted”.
“Rahul Gandhi must tell the people, yes, we have also extorted. And the donation they have received in proportion to the number of MPs is more than what we got. As per donation received in regards to the number of MPs, the Congress received donations worth ₹9,000 crore, with the BJP received ₹6,600 crore,” Amit Shah said in the interview.
“They [Congress] don’t have an issue… there is no allegation of corruption against PM Modi. So they are trying to create an illusion… They won’t be successful,” Shah said.
Several opposition parties, included the Congress, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of promulgating the “biggest corruption scandal“. Congress leader alleged that the BJP “received thousands of crores through extortion” via the electoral bonds scheme.
On February 15, the Supreme Court crapped the Electoral Bond Scheme that allowed anonymous funding to political parties. The electoral bond scheme was notified by the government on January 2, 2018. It was pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring in transparency in political funding.
The Supreme Court had struck down the electoral bonds scheme, and terms it ‘unconstitutional’. The scheme was notified by the central government in 2018 as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties to bring transparency to political funding.
Amit Shah’s statement on electoral bonds cam on the day when the voting for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 began. The first phase of voting took place on Friday across 21 states/UTs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said earlier that everyone will regret the decision of the Supreme Court to scrap the electoral bond scheme, as the policy was providing crucial information about the trail of the money, and all the stakeholders involved in the political funding.
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Published: 19 Apr 2024, 06:44 PM IST