India

‘Modi Government Using SBI As Shield To Hide…’ Accused Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge

As the largest bank of India, State Bank of India (SBI) has asked for an extension of the deadline to disclose electoral bond details, the opposition party has linked the demand to politics in no time. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of hiding its “dubious dealing” behind SBI.

SBI’s petition to Supreme Court

The State Bank of India (SBI) petitioned the Supreme Court to extend the deadline until June 30, weeks after the court ordered the country’s biggest bank to reveal the specifics of bonds that political parties had cashed. The bank was given until March 6 by the court to provide the information.

Kharge described the electoral bonds program as undemocratic and opaque. He said that the bank is being used as a shield by the BJP government. “The Modi government is using the largest bank of our country as a shield to hide its dubious dealings through Electoral Bonds,” he said.

According to Kharge, the BJP wants the SBI to release the information after June 30, which is when the Lok Sabha elections are expected to end.  “But the BJP wants it to be done after Lok Sabha elections. The tenure of this Lok Sabha will end on 16th June and SBI wants to share the data by 30th June,” Kharge said.

Also Read: Items Seized From Pak Bound Ship Are Dual Equipment, Can Be Used In Military Applications: DRDO

BJP the biggest beneficiary of electoral bonds

He claimed the BJP was the biggest beneficiary of the scheme. “Isn’t the government conveniently hiding the BJP’s shady dealings where contracts of highways, ports, airports, power plants etc. were handed over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cronies in lieu of these opaque electoral bonds,” he asked.

“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?” he said.

“Congress party was crystal clear that the Electoral Bonds scheme was opaque, undemocratic and destroyed the level playing field. But the Modi government, PMO and FM bulldozed every institution – RBI, Election Commission, Parliament and Opposition to fill BJP’s coffers,” Kharge alleged.

Modi government attempting to overturn SC ruling

According to Kharge, the Modi administration is attempting to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling by using the SBI. Congress MP Manish Tewari said the Supreme Court should not allow the SBI to “get away with its chicanery on Electoral Bonds”.

“People before the General Elections must know who got what from whom & whether there was any prima-facie quid pro quo involved?” he said.

On Monday, in a post on X, Rahul Gandhi had said: “Narendra Modi has put his entire force in order to hide the ‘donation business’.”

“When the Supreme Court has stated that it is the right of the people of the country to know the truth about electoral bonds, then why does the SBI not want this information to be made public before the elections?” he added.

In its appeal, SBI claimed that the donations were kept private and that getting the data required a lot of time. “It is submitted that the data related to the issuance of the bond and the data related to the redemption of the bond was kept recorded in two different silos. No central database was maintained. This was done to ensure that donors’ anonymity would be protected,” it said.

Srishti Verma

Recent Posts

Gautam Adani Hails Puri Lifeguards As Unsung Heroes During Rath Yatra Visit

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, visited Puri in Odisha during the annual Rath…

4 hours ago

Acharya Pramod Krishnam Slams Congress Over ‘Internal Emergency’ Allegation

Acharya Pramod Krishnam, stirred political debate by claiming an 'internal emergency' still exists within the…

4 hours ago

MRM Meeting: Pledge for Global Peace, Green India, De-addiction & Democratic Integrity

Taking a crucial step toward positive transformation, social reform, and global peace, the Muslim Rashtriya…

4 hours ago

India To Host 2029 World Police & Fire Games; Amit Shah Hails Global Recognition

India has been chosen to host the prestigious 2029 World Police and Fire Games in…

5 hours ago

Seeing The Lord Among Devotees Is The Pinnacle Of Humility: Gautam Adani At Rath Yatra

Gautam Adani, along with his wife and Karan, participated in the Rath Yatra in Puri,…

7 hours ago

PM Modi Interacts With Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Aboard The ISS

PM Narendra Modi interacted with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to reach the…

8 hours ago