Politics

Congress Kharge attacks Modi as BJP gets 50% funding

Congress Kharge attacks Modi as BJP gets 50% funding

By Renu Sharma - 22 Mar 2024 08:53 PM

The details of the electoral bonds data published by the Election Commission (ECI) on Thursday has caused quite a stir in political circles, with the Opposition accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating a huge "scam" in the name of funding. The country's main Opposition Congress party's President, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Friday directly charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with corruption as the data showed that the BJP encashed nearly 50 per cent of all the bonds purchased.


The BJP encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 6060.5 crore, which is 47.5 per cent of the total bonds issued by the State Bank of India (SBI) between April 12, 2019 and January 24, 2024.


"PM Modi says "na khaunga, na khane dunga, but it seems that he only meant —"sirf BJP ko khilaunga," Kharge charged. His remarks referred to Modi's popular slogan about eliminating corruption, often used in his election campaigns.


"There are many dubious donors. Who are these people? Which companies are these? Why have so many companies donated only after ED, IT and CBI raids? Who exerted the pressure on such companies? We demand the highest level of enquiry by the Hon'ble Supreme Court to investigate this saga of corruption by the BJP," Kharge said.


He also highlighted the huge disparity in the amount received by the BJP and the Congress – 47.5 per cent against 11 per cent.
Raking up the recent issue of Congress' bank accounts being frozen, he questioned why no action has been taken against the BJP, which has "illegally acquired crores and crores of money."


The Congress further demanded that an enquiry should be made on the issue and the BJP's accounts should be frozen immediately.
The Congress and other Opposition are crying foul over the scheme, alleging it has disproportionately benefited the ruling party. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Kabil Sibal among other Opposition leaders have alleged the BJP of having carried out "extortion" by "harassing" corporates with financial probe agencies.

 

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