x

Like our Facebook Page

   
Early Times Newspaper Jammu, Leading Newspaper Jammu
 
Breaking News :   Justice For Terror Victim Families | Kathua Administration welcomes first Batch of Amarnath Yatris at Lakhanpur | Yatra of resilience: LG to flag off first batch today after Pahalgam carnage, Op Sindoor | LG visits Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar, reviews arrangements | LG reviews final preparations | LG chairs high-level meeting, discusses issues of terror victim families | LG flags off fleet of ambulances in Ramban, Anantnag districts | 5 real brothers from Budgam among fraudulently selected candidates | Hope beneath the surface: Govt plans underground hospital in Poonch | ACB catches DDC member red handed | Crime Branch books J&K Bank officers, others for frauds | Back Issues  
 
news details
41 companies facing probe by central agencies gave Rs 2,471 crore to BJP through electoral bonds: Petitioners
3/22/2024 10:50:10 PM
Agencies
NEW DELHI, Mar 22: Forty-one companies facing probe by the CBI, ED and the I-T Department gave Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds, and Rs 1,698 crore of it was donated after raids by these agencies, civil society activists who challenged the poll funding scheme in the Supreme Court claimed on Friday.
Addressing the media after the Election Commission made public a fresh data set of electoral bonds, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioners in the court, said at least 30 shell companies purchased electoral bonds worth over Rs 143 crore.
He said 33 groups which have got 172 major contracts and project approvals from the government also made donations through electoral bonds.
"They have got a total of Rs 3.7 lakh crore in projects and contracts, in exchange for Rs 1,751 crore electoral bond donations to the BJP," he alleged.
Bhushan also claimed that 41 companies which faced raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax Department gave Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP, and Rs 1,698 crore of it was given after these raids and Rs 121 crore was given in the three months immediately after the raids.
In at least 49 cases, Bhushan alleged, Rs 62,000 crore in postpaid contracts/project approvals were given by the Centre or BJP-led state governments, for which Rs 580 crore in "kickbacks" in the form of electoral bonds were given to the BJP within three months.
Bhushan claimed Kalpataru Group gave Rs 5.5 crore to the BJP within three months of an I-T Department raid on it on August 3 last year.
"Future Gaming gave Rs 60 crore to the BJP within three months of I-T and ED raids on November 12, 2023 and December 1, 2021 respectively. Aurobindo Pharma gave Rs 5 crore to the BJP within three months of ED raid on November 10, 2022," he added.
Calling the electoral bonds scheme the biggest scam of Independent India, Bhushan alleged four categories of corruption was done through it.
"The first is chanda do, dhanda lo (give donation and get business), the second is hafta-vasuli (extortion), the third is theka lo, rishwat do (bag contract, give bribe), and farzi company," he said.
Another petitioner, Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder Member and Trustee of poll rights NGO Association of Democratic Reforms, said data that has come out after the Supreme court verdict is "just the tip of the iceberg".
"No one can say after the verdict that the corporate-political nexus does not exist in the country," he said. RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj, also a petitioner in the case, demanded an independent probe into the matter.
"Who will investigate the investigator? An independent SIT should for formed to look into the corruption through electoral bonds," she said.
  Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network  
  Comment on this Story  
 
 
 
Early Times Android App
STOCK UPDATE
  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty
 
CRICKET UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Home About Us Top Stories Local News National News Sports News Opinion Editorial ET Cetra Advertise with Us ET E-paper
 
 
J&K RELATED WEBSITES
J&K Govt. Official website
Jammu Kashmir Tourism
JKTDC
Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board
Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board
Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board
UTILITY
Train Enquiry
IRCTC
Matavaishnodevi
BSNL
Jammu Kashmir Bank
State Bank of India
PUBLIC INTEREST
Passport Department
Income Tax Department
JK CAMPA
JK GAD
IT Education
Web Site Design Services
EDUCATION
Jammu University
Jammu University Results
JKBOSE
Kashmir University
IGNOU Jammu Center
SMVDU