BENGALURU: AICC President and Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has misused the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and IT department to ensure the BJP gets enormous donations through electoral bonds, and demanded a high-level investigation into the case.
With a few hours left for the Election Commission to declare general elections, Kharge expressed deep concern over the lack of a level playing field, as bank accounts of the Congress party were frozen in an old case. He demanded that the BJP’s accounts be frozen, as the SC has said the electoral bonds are unconstitutional.
“Data released by State Bank of India shows that of the total money collected through electoral bonds, BJP got nearly 50 per cent, while Congress, the principal opposition party, got only 11 per cent. There are many dubious donors. Who are these people and companies?” he questioned at a press conference at the KPCC office. “Considering the voting pattern, how can the BJP get over 50 per cent of the money, unless there are dubious donors,” he said.
He also alleged that the companies had bought bonds only after raids by the ED, IT and CBI, under pressure from the BJP government. “We demand the highest level of inquiry by the Supreme Court to investigate this saga of corruption,’’ he urged. “PM acted like ‘Satya Harishchandra’ by saying ‘na khaunga na khane dunga’ (will not eat or allow others to eat) but it seems he meant ‘sirf BJP ko khilavoonga’ (feed only BJP).”
“Rs 300 crore collected from Congress workers and student wing NSUI were frozen. However, no action has been taken against the BJP, which has illegally acquired crores of rupees. How can the Congress fight elections with no level playing field? We demand that the BJP’s bank accounts be frozen with immediate effect. If pressured and harassed people donate to the BJP, there will be no equality. Should not opposition parties thrive in a democracy?” he asked.
The Congress will discuss the next course of action at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting soon. On senior leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand that EVMs be replaced with paper ballots, Kharge suggested that if that doesn’t happen, all VVPATs should be counted.
AICC treasurer and RS member Ajay Maken alleged that of 22,217 electoral bonds issued since 2018, details of only 18,871 bonds are on the ECI website, while details of 3,346 bonds are not available. “Who are these people the Modi government is trying to shield? There should be an investigation. The probe should link IT and ED raids to these bonds. Most of the companies which donated through electoral bonds have either been raided by the IT or ED,” he alleged.