Congress Slams Nirmala Sitharaman's Remarks On Return Of Electoral Bonds With 'PayPM' Jibe

Jairam Ramesh attacked the BJP and said that the saffron party intended to bring back electoral bonds in some form.

The Congress on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reported remarks that electoral bonds will be brought back after consultations and alleged that after looting Rs 4 lakh crore of public money, they want to "continue the loot."

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh launched a scathing attack on the BJP after Sitharaman told the Hindustan Times that the saffron party intended to bring back electoral bonds in some form after consultations with all stakeholders if it is elected back to power after the 2024 general election.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has declared that if the BJP returns to power, they will bring back the Electoral Bonds that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional and illegal!" "We know that the BJP looted Rs. 4 lakh crore of public money in the #PayPM scam. Now they want to continue the loot," he alleged.

The Congrss leader listed what he said were the "four methods of PayPM." "Prepaid Bribery - Chanda do, Dhandha Lo. Postpaid Bribery - Theka Do, Rishvat Lo. Combined Cost of Pre-paid and Post-paid Bribes: Rs. 3.8 lakh crores," Ramesh said. "Post-Raid Bribery - Hafta Vasuli. Cost of Post-Raid Bribes: Rs. 1,853 crores. Farzi Companies - Money Laundering. Cost of Farzi Companies: Rs. 419 crores," he said. "This is the most important election of our lifetime. Thankfully, as ground reports make clear, this corrupt brigade is on its way out!" Ramesh highlighted.

In February, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment striking down the electoral bonds scheme. Following a directive from the apex court, the State Bank of India, which was the authorised seller of electoral bonds, shared data on electoral bonds which was then made public. The grand old party has alleged that the electoral bonds data has exposed "corrupt tactics" of the BJP such as quid pro quo and grant of "protection" to companies against donations.

Kapil Sibal Slams Sitharaman's Remarks On Electoral Bonds

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday said the BJP is claiming that the electoral bonds scheme was brought for transparency but the Supreme Court had stated the opposite while declaring it "unconstitutional".

"Nirmala Sitharaman has said in an interview that we will bring back electoral bonds and it was also said in the interview that when electoral bonds were introduced, they were introduced for the sake of transparency. This is exactly the opposite of what the Supreme Court stated," Sibal said in a press conference, as quoted by PTI. The Supreme Court has said that these are not "transparent" and were brought in a "non-transparent manner", he said.

"Now the problem they (BJP) are facing is that they have money for this election but they know that they will need the money when they lose. However, Nirmala ji is saying (they) will win and bring it (electoral bonds scheme) back," Sibal said.