Cong slams govt on electoral bonds

Attacking the government over electoral bonds, the Congress on Monday alleged that anonymous donations through electoral bonds is tantamount to money laundering.

Congress spokesperson Rajiv Gowda said that through the system of electoral bonds the common people will not be able to know which corporate entity has given money to a political party and what benefits they got in return.

Gowda said that "of the Rs 6,000 crore of electoral bonds bought - 95 per cent of the bonds have gone to BJP and BJP ne khaya aur khilaya bhi".

The Congress alleged that the Reserve Bank of India had cautioned the government about the scheme but was overruled by the Finance Ministry.

"We demand immediate scrapping of electoral bonds and also information on which entity has bought the electoral bonds," Gowda added.

The Congress alleged that the BJP is "selling the assets of the country to crony capitalists".

Party spokesperson Pawan Khera said that "These bonds have become a mechanism for converting black money to the bonds, and despite opposition from the RBI and EC the government went ahead with the scheme."

Congress has questioned the motive of the government by bringing the amendment through a money bill in 2017. The party wants that all the donors' names should be made public.

The party is apprehensive that the sale of PSUs is being done to "compensate" those corporates who have donated to the BJP.

The Congress got electoral bonds of Rs 500 crore, said Gowda.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi also raised the issue of electoral bonds, and alleged that they were cleared by bypassing the Reserve Bank of India.

She took to Twitter to allege, "Electoral bonds were cleared by by-passing RBI and dismissing national security concerns in order to enable black money to enter the BJP coffers. It appears that while the BJP was elected on the promise of eradicating black money it was busy lining its own pockets with exactly that! What a shameful betrayal of the Indian people."

In May this year, Rahul Gandhi had trained his guns at the Election Commission while raising the issue of alleged manipulation of EVMs and electoral bonds. He had tweeted: "From Electoral Bonds & EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, 'Modi's Army' & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission's capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Ind. The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore."

In April this year, The Congress had demanded that the BJP reveal its source of funds through electoral bonds.

Some media reports suggest that the government, in a bid to seek 'secretive funds', overrules the RBI over the issue of electoral bonds. The Congress is now training its guns on the government based on such reports.

( With inputs from IANS )