Saturday, 17 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Bharatiya Janata Party has said that the Congress should honour the verdict of the Supreme Court on the electoral bond scheme instead of playing politics on it. Accusing the Congress of spreading confusion, the BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt said that the court had not made any adverse comment regarding the possibility of corruption but had cited the Right To Information Act and said about considering other options.
Bhatt said that the Congress had no problem with receiving Rs 1,113 crore donation during the past five years through this scheme but is unhappy with other parties receiving donations. He said, “The intention of the BJP behind the electoral bond system was clear- to put a stop on the use of black money in elections, which is vital to move forward on the path of electoral reforms. It allowed anyone to purchase an electoral bond from a government bank and deposit it in the account of a notified political party. This ensures transfer of money only from the bank and that the money will be received in the political system after tax deduction. The government had implemented this system through the parliament in 2018. Not only the BJP, the Congress, TMC and other parties also received donations through this system,” the BJP State president said.
He further said that since the apex court has given its decision on this issue, all should respect the decision. However, the opposition is without any solid issues and is politicising even this. In a period of five years, the Congress received about Rs 1,113 crore donation through electoral bonds which is about 9.33 per cent of the total donations.
