“Today, we zoom in on the ‘Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana’, the second of the four channels of corruption in the Electoral Bond Scam: 1.Chanda Do, Dhandha Lo 2.Hafta Vasuli,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
The Congress on Monday stepped up its attack on the Centre on the issue of electoral bonds and accused the Narendra Modi-led government of “hafta vasuli” (extortion). The party asserted that a collective of 21 companies, previously under scrutiny by the CBI, ED, or IT authorities, have contributed funds via electoral bonds.
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Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh remarked that as time progresses, additional instances come to light, revealing the full extent of the “electoral bond scam”.
“Today, we zoom in on the ‘Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana’, the second of the four channels of corruption in the Electoral Bond Scam: 1.Chanda Do, Dhandha Lo 2.Hafta Vasuli,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
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Four channels of corruption
On November 10, 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended P Sarath Chandra Reddy, the director of Aurobindo Pharma, in connection with a money laundering case linked to purported irregularities in the Delhi government’s liquor policy. Five days subsequent to this event, on November 15, Aurobindo Pharma purportedly contributed electoral bonds valued at Rs 5 crore.
“Navayuga Engineering Company Limited bought electoral bonds worth Rs 30 crore in April 2019, six months after it was raided by the Income Tax Department in October 2018,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh alleged that in the early hours of December 7, 2023, the Income Tax Department conducted raids on three units of Rungta Sons Pvt. Ltd. in Ramgarh. He further claimed that on January 11, 2024, the company acquired 50 electoral bonds valued at Rs 1 crore each. Notably, Ramesh highlighted that prior to this incident, the company had only made donations in April 2021.
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“Hyderabad-based Shirdi Sai Electricals Limited faced income tax raids on December 20 2023. On January 11, 2024, the company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 40 crore,” the Congress leader claimed.
“In November 2023, Income Tax officials raided an employee of Reddy’s Labs, for alleged cash transactions. Just after the raids, the company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 31 crore, followed by Rs 21 crore in November 2023, and Rs 10 crore in January 2024, adding up to Rs 84 crore,” he alleged.
“These are just key examples: a total of 21 firms who have faced investigations from the CBI, ED, or IT, have donated electoral bonds after the fact,” Ramesh said.
Furthermore, Ramesh purported that the Modi government also took part in ‘Theka Lo, Rishvat Do’ (get business, at a bribe), through ‘Farzi Company’ (shell companies).
“Remember, the IT Department and the ED implement the Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana. The State Bank of India implements the #ElectoralBondScam. And at the end of the day, all of these institutions report to the same person: the Finance Minister,” Ramesh alleged.
On Sunday, the Congress accused the government of engaging in “quid pro quo” by accepting electoral bonds and “conspiring” to channel black money into the BJP’s accounts through the scheme. Ramesh asserted that PM Modi and Amit Shah should be held accountable for the electoral bond “scam.”
It may be noted that the State Bank of India (SBI) shared the electoral bonds data with the poll panel on March 12 following a Supreme Court directive. SBI, which was the authorised seller of electoral bonds, informed that 22,217 electoral bonds of varying denominations were purchased by donors between April 1, 2019, and February 15 this year, out of which 22,030 were redeemed by political parties.
