The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): In a recent exposé by civil society activists challenging the legitimacy of the electoral bond scheme before the Supreme Court, startling claims have emerged about the sources of political funding in India. It has been alleged that 41 corporations, currently under scrutiny by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Income Tax Department, have funneled a colossal sum of Rs 2,471 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through electoral bonds. Significantly, a substantial portion of these donations, amounting to Rs 1,698 crore, was reportedly made after these companies were subject to raids by the aforementioned agencies.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, unveiled further intricacies of the scheme. He disclosed that at least 30 shell companies, essentially businesses without active operations or significant assets, were involved in the purchase of electoral bonds worth over Rs 143 crore. Moreover, Bhushan implicated 33 conglomerates that have secured 172 major contracts and project approvals from the government, alleging a quid pro quo where these entities donated Rs 1,751 crore through electoral bonds in exchange for contracts and projects totaling an astonishing Rs 3.7 lakh crore.
The analysis extended to companies targeted by central agency raids, revealing that 41 such entities contributed Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP, with donations spiking post-raid. Bhushan highlighted several instances where, within three months following these raids, companies ostensibly received contracts or project approvals from the government worth Rs 62,000 crore, correlating with “kickbacks” of Rs 580 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds.
Individual cases cited included the Kalpataru Group, which allegedly donated Rs 5.5 crore to the BJP shortly after an Income Tax raid, and Future Gaming and Aurobindo Pharma, both of which made hefty contributions following their own brushes with the law.
Labeling the electoral bond scheme as the greatest scandal in India’s post-independence history, Bhushan outlined four primary channels of corruption it purportedly facilitated: transactions of donations for business favors, systemic extortion, bribery for securing contracts, and the operation of fictitious companies.
Jagdeep Chhokar from the Association of Democratic Reforms and RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj echoed Bhushan’s call for an independent inquiry into these grave allegations. They emphasized that the data unveiled following the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment to strike down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional represents just a fraction of the potential corporate-political collusion within the country. This ruling, and the ensuing revelations, have ignited a national conversation on the transparency and integrity of political financing in India, suggesting a need for rigorous scrutiny and reform.