Electoral Bonds Case: On Thursday, the Election Commission released the electoral bond numbers to the public. Congress has expressed concerns about these numbers as well as purported anomalies in the electoral bond entry process.
Kharge’s Call for Investigation
Mallikarjun Kharge, the President of the Congress, has sought an investigation into claims that money was gained via electoral bonds. How would there be an equal fight in the polls, according to Kharge, who also claimed that the Income Tax Department had frozen the Congress party’s bank accounts throughout the election season?
Supreme Court Exposes BJP’s Electoral Bond Profits
On the Electoral Bonds issue in a press conference in Bengaluru, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, ‘The Prime Minister says that neither will I eat nor will I allow to be eaten. Today the Supreme Court has exposed how BJP made money from electoral bonds. Kharge said that the bank accounts of the Congress party have been seized. They (BJP) directed the Income Tax Department to do so. About Rs 300 crore has been seized from us. In such a situation, how will we contest elections? Our accounts are closed and theirs are open. In such a situation, how will there be an equal competition? We demand a high level investigation into this. Until the truth comes out, their accounts should also be frozen.’
Congress Raises Concerns Over Electoral Bond Data Discrepancies
The head of the Congress Communication Department’s Research and Monitoring Branch, Amitabh Dubey, uploaded a post on social media. The Congressman stated that “the figures presented are from April 2019, but the Electoral Bond Scheme was started in the year 2017” in this post.
There are 18,871 records in the data representing contributors, compared to 20,421 entries representing people who accept donations. Why is there an anomaly, State Bank of India and Election Commission? Manikam Tagore, a congress lawmaker, has also reposted this Amitabh Dubey post and questioned the entry inaccuracy. In the post, Manikam Tagore stated, “I don’t think this is a coincidence.”
Electoral Bond Data Raises Transparency Concerns
The identities of individuals who purchased bonds and those who redeemed them are included in the data released by the Election Commission, but it is unclear whose party received the funding. This issue has also been brought up by ADR attorney Prashant Bhushan, who filed the petition opposing electoral bonds. ADR may bring this matter before the Supreme Court once more.