Electoral Bond Scheme: Bhupesh Baghel referred to as it the “largest rip-off of the yr”. (File)
Raipur:
A day after the Election Fee (EC) notified the dates for the Lok Sabha elections, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday referred to as the now-junked electoral bond scheme the “largest rip-off of the yr”.
Talking to reporters, the Congress chief stated, “That is the most important rip-off of the yr. The BJP senses that it’s dropping the Lok Sabha elections and was, therefore, resorting to newer ways towards the Opposition.”
Nonetheless, popping out in defence of the scheme, Union Minister of State for Well being and Household Welfare, SP Singh Baghel, stated the Opposition was hurling unfounded allegations on the BJP over the electoral bond scheme.
“The Opposition is spreading canards towards the BJP for receiving funding value Rs 20,000 crore beneath the electoral bond scheme,” he stated.
“TMC, which is just a regional occasion, acquired Rs 1,600 crore beneath the identical scheme whereas the Congress acquired Rs 1,400 crore, and the BRS received Rs 1,200 crore. An election bond makes it binding on all political events receiving funds to place all of the transactional particulars on their books or steadiness sheets. Nonetheless, earlier than all of that, the events can encash the bonds for assembly their bills,” he added.
Hitting out on the Congress, he stated, “Now the Congress is alleging that electoral bond scheme was launched to extort corporations utilizing central businesses. Underneath their regimes, even switch postings or handing of contracts have been listed beneath occasion fund.”
Earlier within the day, the Election Fee made public contemporary information on electoral bonds, which was beforehand submitted to the Supreme Courtroom in sealed covers, following a directive from the Supreme Courtroom to make it out there to the general public.
“The Election Fee of India has at present uploaded the info acquired in digitized type from the registry of the Supreme Courtroom on electoral bonds on its web site,” the ballot panel stated in a press release.
The EC initially submitted the main points within the sealed covers to the Supreme Courtroom and was later requested to place them within the public area.
Notably, this info pertains to transactions that occurred earlier than April 12, 2019. The small print of electoral bonds issued after this information have been disclosed by the Election Fee final week.
“Information so acquired from political events was deposited within the Supreme Courtroom with out opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Courtroom’s order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Courtroom has returned bodily copies together with a digitized file of the identical in a pen drive in a sealed cowl. The Election Fee of India has at present uploaded the info acquired within the digitized type from the registry of the Supreme Courtroom on electoral bonds on its web site,” the EC added.
In accordance with the contemporary particulars, the DMK acquired Rs 656.5 crore via electoral bonds, together with Rs 509 crore from lottery king Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming.
The BJP encashed electoral bonds value a mixed Rs 6,986.5 crore. The very best quantity acquired by the ruling occasion was in 2019-20 value Rs 2,555 crore.
Congress encashed funds totalling Rs 1,334.35 crore via electoral bonds.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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