Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday termed the Centre's electoral bond scheme as the "biggest scam in Indian history" after the Apex Court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to divulge the details of donors and bonds redeemed by political parties by tomorrow.
Taking a swipe at PM Modi over court order, Gandhi said the former's 'donation business' is about to be exposed.
"Narendra Modi's 'donation business' is about to be exposed! The government that came to power by promising to bring back black money from Swiss banks in 100 days, stood on its head in the Supreme Court for hiding the data of its own bank," the Gandhi scion said in a post on X.
"Electoral Bonds is going to prove to be the biggest scam in Indian history, which will reveal the real face of Narendra Modi in front of the country by exposing the nexus of corrupt industrialists and the government," he added.
"The chronology is clear- Donate- Take business, Donate-Take Protection! Shower of blessings on those who donate and tax burden on the general public, this is the Modi government of BJP," the former Congress president remarked.
What did the SC say?
The Supreme Court dismissed State Bank of India's (SBI) application seeking an extension of time, contempt plea against the bank on Monday. The application filed by the State Bank of India (SBI) had sought an extension of time, until June 30, for making details of encashed Electoral Bonds public. However, the apex court has ordered the bank to share all necessary details by tomorrow, business hours.
Supreme Court also warned SBI that it will initiate contempt proceedings against the SBI if the information on the electoral bonds is not furnished by tomorrow before the close of business hours. The apex court then also ordered the Election Commission that all the data shared by SBI should be available on their official portal by March 15.
SC had termed Electoral Bonds "unconstitutional"
In a landmark decision on February 15, 2024, a five-judge panel of the Supreme Court of India deemed the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional. This scheme had enabled unrestricted anonymous funding of political parties and reinforced the influence of large sums of money in the Indian political landscape.
In order to fully implement its ruling, the apex court halted the issuance of electoral bonds and instructed the State Bank of India (SBI), the authorized issuer and enforcer of the bonds, to reveal two sets of information to the Election Commission of India (ECI) within 21 days. This information would then be published on the ECI's website to ensure transparency and accountability.
