Electoral Bonds Data Revealed HIGHLIGHTS: Oppn Parties Target BJP After Poll Body Releases Data
Electoral Bond Data Revealed HIGHLIGHTS: The ECI's release of electoral bond data from the SBI sparked a barrage of responses from political parties. Follow this space for all updates.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he would take legal action against Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi for alleging that the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a company that gave donation to BJP via electoral bonds. "The allegations levelled by Hon'ble MP Shri @pradyutbordoloi is devoid of any facts and are entirely baseless," Sarma posted on X.
Hitting out at the BJP, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X, ""Electoral bonds are BJP's guarantee to convert black money into white. Electoral Bond ‘Black Money Tourism’ means the BJP's guarantee of black money brought back."
Jairam Ramesh, Congress's general secretary, reiterated the party's call for distinct bond ID numbers to facilitate accurate tracking of donors and recipients. Ramesh shared his initial observations on the Electoral Bonds data in a post on X, pointing out the delayed release despite attempts to postpone it until after the election.
READ | 'BJP's Hafta Wasooli': Congress Slams Centre's 'Chanda Do, Dhanda Lo Policy' Using Electoral Bonds
The Supreme Court on Friday takes an exception to the SBI not disclosing the unique numbers of the Electoral Bonds. The apex court issued notice to the SBI and sought its reply in the next hearing on Monday. The case was being heard by a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud.
READ | SC Asks SBI To Publish Electoral Bonds Data Establishing Link Between Political Parties
The Supreme Court has served a notice to SBI and awaits its response, with the next hearing set for Monday.
The Supreme Court probes the Election Commission's submission of pre-2019 political party donation details, while issuing a notice to SBI regarding the absence of bond numbers in the provided data. (Input from ABP News reporter Nipun)
The Election Commission of India seeks the return of Electoral Bond documents submitted to the Supreme Court in sealed cover on two occasions.
On the issue of electoral bonds, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal stated, "Just as in the 2G case, where a SIT was formed, a SIT should be formed in this case as well to investigate the matter. We'll have to see how the law interprets this now...It should also be determined who donated to the PM-CARES. It's up to investigators to determine which party received how much money."
Data from the Election Commission indicate that HUB Power, a Pakistani company registered in Delhi, donated approximately Rs 95 lakh to Indian political parties on April 18, 2019. (Input from ABP News reporter Ankit)
The other has the names of the political parties as well as the denominations of the bonds and the dates on which they were encashed.
The EC's website has two lists. The first is of companies that purchased electoral bonds, along with the denomination and dates.
The Election Commission on Thursday released the roster of organisations that acquired electoral bonds for political contributions, following the State Bank of India's submission of details following the rebuke from the Supreme Court. The largest sum of donations came from a firm called Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited, helmed by Santiago Martin, renowned as the "Lottery King".
READ | Meet Santiago Martin, Labourer Turned Lottery King: The Highest Electoral Bond Donor
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.
READ | 'One Donation. One Party': Oppn Takes A Jibe At BJP After Poll Body Releases Electoral Bonds Data
Background
Electoral Bond Data Revealed HIGHLIGHTS: Hello and welcome to this space brought to you by ABP Live. The ECI's release of electoral bond data from the SBI sparked a barrage of responses from political parties. Follow this space for all updates.
In a significant step towards transparency in political funding, the Election Commission of India has uploaded data from electoral bonds issued by the State Bank of India. The details were uploaded on Thursday, one day before the Supreme Court's deadline. The data covers bond purchases ranging from ₹ 1,000 to ₹ 1 crore since April 12, 2019, and includes both individual and corporate purchases.
The EC's website contains two lists. The first is a list of companies that purchased electoral bonds, along with their denominations and dates. The other includes the names of the political parties, the denominations of the bonds, and the dates on which they were cashed. There is no way to correlate the lists and determine which company or individual donated to which party.
READ | SBI Electoral Bond Data: Here Is The List Of Top Donors To Political Parties
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.
The Election Commission of India's release of electoral bond data from the State Bank of India sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, notably X.
READ | 'One Donation. One Party': Oppn Takes A Jibe At BJP After Poll Body Releases Electoral Bonds Data
During a hearing on Monday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud slammed the SBI for "wilful disobedience of its order" to hand over the data to the poll body by March 6.
The court had ordered the SBI to submit the data to the Election Commission by Tuesday, warning that failure to do so would result in contempt proceedings. The court also ordered the bank's chairman and managing director to file an affidavit after the order was complied with.
SBI, India's largest bank, submitted the data on Tuesday and filed the affidavit with the court the following day. The affidavit stated that 22,217 electoral bonds were issued between April 2019 and February 15, 2024, before the Supreme Court ruled the scheme unconstitutional and arbitrary.
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