'Modi Run Extortion Racket': Rahul Gandhi on Electoral Bonds Scheme

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running the ‘world’s biggest extortion racket’ through the Electoral Bonds Scheme. Read More

Saturday March 16, 2024 12:09 PM, ummid.com News Network

New Delhi/Thane: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running the ‘world’s biggest extortion racket’ through the Electoral Bonds Scheme.

Rahul Gandhi, who is camping in Bhiwandi near Mumbai leading the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, said the Modi led government used ED, CBI, Income Tax (IT) Department to intimidate corporates and force them to donate money to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

“It turns out that this is a way of extorting money from India’s largest corporates, it is a way of stealing money from the biggest contracts in the country", Rahul said addressing the media in Bhiwandi.

"It is a way of intimidating corporates and forcing them to give money to the BJP. So it is the world’s biggest corruption scam, it is the world’s biggest extortion racket and it is run by the Prime Minister of India”, Rahul Gandhi, a Member of Parliament from Wayanad, said.

“This is a huge theft taking place right in front of everybody’s eyes and it has been orchestrated by the Indian Prime Minister", Rahul said.

'Freeze BJP bank accounts'

Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a high-level probe by the Supreme Court against the ruling BJP and freezing of its bank accounts.

“There are many dubious donors. Who are these people? Which companies are these? Why have so many companies donated only after ED, I-T and CBI raids? Who exerted pressure on such companies?" Kharge asked while addressing the media a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) published the names of donors provided to it by the State Bank of India (SBI) following the Supreme Court order.

"We demand the highest level of enquiry by the Supreme Court to investigate this saga of corruption by the BJP,” he said.

The Supreme Court of India had in a landmark judgement delivered on February 15, 2024 struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional, and asked the SBI to disclose the details of the donors and parties benefited from the scheme by March 06, 2024.

How Bonds Scheme was misused

In a separate briefing Congress Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate gave name by name details of some of the companies to show how they were raided by the agencies and forced to make donation, and the companies who made donations after getting government contracts.

“The DLF Commercial Developers Limited was raided on January 25, 2019 and it purchased the bonds on October 09, 2019”, she said.

“Divi's Laboratories Limited was raided by the Income Tax officials on Feb 19, 2019. The company purchased the bonds on July 05, 2023”, she added.

Supriya Shrinate also talked about Navayuga Engineering which bought bonds worth 90 crore from April 2019 to October 2022.

“It is the same company which built the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi which collapsed on 12 November 2023 leaving 41 labourers trapped. No enquiry has been initiated against the company. Now it has become clear why”, she said.

In her briefing, Supriya Shrinate also mentioned the names of United Phosphorus which was raided by IT on January 23, 2020 and donated through electoral bonds to a party on Nov 15, 2022, IFB Agro raided by GST officials on June 25, 2020 and it purchased bonds on Oct 08, 2021, Yashoda Hospital of Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) purchased bonds worth 162 crore rupees from April 2021 to October 2022 after it was raided by Income Tax department in December 2020.

Similarly, Hetero Drugs and Hetero Labs wad raided by IT sleuths on Oct 09, 2021 and it purchased the bonds on Nov 07, 2022.

Haldia Energy faced CBI probe in March 2020 and it bought the electoral bonds Oct 2021. Chennai Greenwoods IT raid in July 2021 and it purchased bonds on January 05, 2022. IT raid on HeroMoto on March 23, 2022, it purchased bods on Oct 07, 2022.

“The case of Future Gaming & Hotel Servicing is very interesting. The ED raids the company on April 03, 2022 and seizes properties worth 409 crore rupees. Four days later, on April 07, 2022, it purchases bonds worth 100 crore rupees and gives it to the BJP”, Supriya Shrinate said.

Supriya Shrinate also linked the purchase of electoral bonds by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Micro Lab, NCC Limited, Kalpataru Project, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Shirdi Sai Electrical Ltd, Aurobindo Pharma to raids by agencies.

'Quid pro quo, kickback'

The Congress Spokesperson in her briefing also named a number of companies that were given contracts in exchange of donations through electoral bonds – a quid pro quo and case of kickback.

“Megha Engineering was given a contract worth 14,400 crore rupees in May 2023 after the company made donations through the bonds scheme in April 2023", she said.

Supriya said Serum Institute donated INR 52 crores in a single day on August 18, 2022.

“PM Modi visits Serum Institute on August 22, 2022 and the company enjoys its monopoly on Covid vaccine”, Surpiya Shrinate alleged.

Some of the other companies which according to the Congress received contracts in exchange of electoral bonds are Vedanta, Torrent Power, IRB Infra, APCO Infra, Wonder Cement, Bright Star Investment and Mittal Group.

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