Modi Govt Using SBI To 'Hide Dubious Dealings': Kharge Questions Delay On Electoral Bonds Data

Kharge stated that BJP wants to hide its "dubious dealings" and thus wants SBI to provide details on the electoral bonds after Lok Sabha elections.

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

After State Bank of India (SBI) seeked extension of deadline for disclosing details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties, Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday slammed BJP government for using the bank as a sheild "to hide its dubious dealings through Electoral Bonds." Kharge stated that BJP wants to hide its dubious dealings and thus wants SBI to provide details to the apex court after Lok Sabha elections, adding that the "tenure of this Lok Sabha will end on 16th June and SBI wants to share the data by 30th June."

On Monday, SBI has asked apex court to extend its deadline till June 30 to submit details of Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission of India. In the plea filed before the top court, SBI contended that retrieval of information and the procedure of matching the information would be a time-consuming exercise.

Congress chief further stated that Supreme Court's order has "struck down Modi Govt’s 'Black Money Conversion' scheme of Electoral Bonds." 

Modi Govt is using the largest bank of our country as a shield to hide its dubious dealings through Electoral Bonds.

No less than the Supreme Court of India had struck down Modi Govt’s 'Black Money Conversion' scheme of Electoral Bonds, holding it “Unconstitutional”, “Violative…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) March 5, 2024

Calling BJP as the "main beneficiary of this fraudulent scheme," Kharge stated: "Isn’t the Modi Govt conveniently hiding BJP’s shady dealings where contracts of highways, ports, airports, power plants etc were handed over to Modi ji’s cronies in lieu of these opaque electoral bonds? Experts say that the 44,434 automated data entries of donors can be divulged and matched in just 24 hours, why does the SBI then need 4 more months, to collate this information?"

Reiterating Congress's stand on electoral bonds, Kharge stated: "Congress party was crystal clear that the Electoral Bonds scheme was opaque, undemocratic and destroyed level playing field."

He added: "Modi Govt, PMO and FM bulldozed every institution - RBI, Election Commission, Parliament and Opposition to fill BJP's coffers. Now a desperate Modi Govt, clutching on straws, is trying to use SBI to bulldoze the Supreme Court’s judgement!"