Congress slams Nirmala Sitharaman's remarks on electoral bonds

The Congress on Saturday, 20 April, hit out at the BJP over finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reported remarks that electoral bonds will be brought back after consultations, alleging that after looting Rs 4 lakh crore of public money, they want to "continue the loot."

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's attack on the BJP came after Sitharaman told the Hindustan Times that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 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.

Ramesh 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!" the Congress leader asserted.

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 Congress 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.