Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleged that companies that incurred huge losses have made significant donations to the BJP through the Electoral Bond scheme
A FIR has been registered with the Bengaluru police against union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, and BJP office bearers at both the national and state levels. The case is related to a complaint with regards to the electoral bond scheme that is scrapped now.
Following the incident, Congress MP and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi demanded the resignation of the finance minister.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah, whose resignation is sought by the opposition BJP as an FIR was registered against him over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case, said: "According to BJP leaders' argument, Nirmala Sitharaman should resign now, right?"
Additionally, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge demanded the resignation of the minister and alleged that companies that incurred huge losses have made significant donations to the BJP through the Electoral Bond scheme, and the court found valid grounds to direct the police to register an FIR against Sitharaman and others. According to Kharge, 33 companies running at a loss of Rs one lakh crore have donated Rs 576.2 crore to the BJP.
The issue started after a complaint by one Adarsh Iyer, co-president, Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (a non-governmental organization), who accused the finance minister of engaging in extortion disguised as electoral bonds. Iyer also alleged that this resulted in a financial gain that exceeded Rs 8,000 crore.
After the Bengaluru court forwarded the complaint, the Fir was filed by the Bengaluru police under sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. As per LiveLaw, others who have been named in the complaint include BJP President JP Nadda, former BJP Karnataka Vice President BY Vijayendra, and BJP Karnataka President Naleen Kumar Kateel.
The complaint filed indicates that Sitharaman pressurized the ED to conduct raids, investigations, and arrests of top officials on the companies. Because of the fear of these investigations, many corporations were forced to buy the electoral bonds worth several crores. These were then cashed by BJP National President J.P. Nadda and Karnataka BJP President Naleen Kumar Kateel.
The complaint also reportedly highlighted that corporations such as “M/s Sterlite and M/s Vedanta Company were subjected to raids by accused no. 2 (ED) on multiple occasions”. Following this, they were compelled to buy electoral bonds of Rs 230.15 crore from 2019 to 2023.
The Supreme Court in February had struck down the electoral bond scheme, saying it violates the right to information and the freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution.
The judgment was passed by a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud. The bench highlighted that a complete non-disclosure of the political source of funding would lead to corruption.
During the verdict, Chief Justice Chandrachud highlighted, “We ask ourselves whether the elected would truly be responsive to the electorate if companies that bring with them huge finances and engage in quid pro quo arrangements with parties are permitted to contribute unlimited amounts.”
(With inputs from PTI)