The Election Commission of India's disclosure of electoral bond data provided by the State Bank of India has triggered a deluge of responses on social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter). In a significant stride towards enhancing transparency in political funding, the details were made available on Thursday night, meeting the deadline set by the Supreme Court.
Here's a look at some of the reactions coming straight from the political sphere.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the Association of Democratic Reforms, one of the petitioners in the electoral bonds case, raised concerns over SBI's reluctance to share codes that could have established links between donors and political parties.
It is to be noted that Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR made the largest contribution through the method, purchasing bonds worth ₹1,368 crore. Megha Engineering And Infrastructures Limited ranked second, purchasing bonds worth ₹ 966 crore.
Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited ranked third with ₹410 crore, followed by Vedanta Limited at ₹400 crore and Haldia Energy Limited at ₹377 crore.
Taking to his X account, Bhushan said, "On April 23, Megha Engineering allocates hundreds of crores in #ElectoralBonds to whom? But within a month, it secures a 14,400 crore contract from BJP's Maharashtra government! Although SBI has concealed bond numbers, some correlations between donors and parties can be inferred. Most contributions appear to be transactional".
In response, Priyanka Chaturvedi, spokesperson of Shiv Sena (UBT), shared a screen recording, stating, "It isn’t just the twin tunnel worth 14400 crores. Just saying".
In another tweet, she questioned the involvement of institutions like hospitals in political funding, asking, "And can’t imagine a hospital also spending on political funding. why Yashoda Hospital, why?"
Taking a direct swipe at the BJP, she added, "One donation. One party".
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate commented, "A deduction of Rs 2 does not distract from the loot of lakhs of crores!"
In an X post, Asaduddin Owaisi, Chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), also highlighted the revelation of BJP's undisclosed electoral bond funding, demanding further investigation into the matter.
"Election Commission data shows how much money BJP received through secret electoral bonds. Had to show the paper. The question is that if BJP has so much money then why are their trolls getting only ₹ 2 since 2014? This should be investigated."
The Kerala unit of the Congress party asserted, "The exposure of 'Organized Loot and Legalized Plunder' is underway. The dawn of poetic justice awaits".
National Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha weighed in, saying, "the electoral bond scam is a can of worms".
Political activist Yogendra Yadav reposted a post on electoral bonds, and said, "This thread ties up the quid pro quo of Electoral Bonds".
SBI Electoral Bond Data:
Piramal Enterprises Ltd., Muthoot Finance Limited, Pegasus Properties Private Limited, Finolex Cables Ltd., Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, Edelweiss Housing Finance Ltd., GHCL Ltd., Jindal Poly Films Limited, ITC Limited, Vedanta Limited, and Bharti Airtel Limited were among the major donors to political parties through electoral bonds.
List Of Top Donors To Political Parties:
READ | SBI Electoral Bond Data: Here Is The List Of Top Donors To Political Parties