E-Paper
Case against FM, BJP chief after court order in poll bond plea
The order was issued by a special Bengaluru court, which subsequently led to an FIR at Tilaknagar police station
Karnataka police filed an FIR on Saturday against Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda and several others over allegations of extortion through electoral bonds after a court’s order the previous day.
The order was issued by a special Bengaluru court, which subsequently led to an FIR at Tilaknagar police station. The complaint accuses Sitharaman, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, and BJP officials of extortion and criminal conspiracy.
Adarsh Iyer, co-president of the Janadhikara Sangharsa Parishad (JSP), filed the private complaint that led to the court’s directive. “We have filed a total of 15 complaints against BJP ministers and office bearers after the Supreme Court verdict. But no action was initiated by police, which prompted us to file a complaint in court,” Iyer stated.
The FIR alleges that the BJP collected ₹8,000 crore through the electoral bond scheme, which the Supreme Court recently struck down as unconstitutional. Iyer cited two specific instances: “We have mentioned two instances of collecting ₹230 crores from Vedanta group and ₹39 crores from Aurobindo Pharma by BJP.”
A police officer from Tilaknagar station confirmed, “We have registered FIR under IPC sections 384 (Extortion), 120B (Criminal conspiracy), and 34 (Acts done by several persons with a common intention).”
A Union finance ministry spokesperson did not respond on the matter.
The case ignited a political firestorm, with opposition parties calling for Sitharaman’s resignation. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, himself facing calls to resign over what is known as the Muda land allotment irregularities, remarked: “According to BJP leaders’ argument, Nirmala Sitharaman should resign now, right?”
JD(S) leader and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy defended Sitharaman, asking, “Why should she resign? Has electoral bond funds gone to Sitharaman’s personal account to resign?”
Union consumer affairs minister Prahlad Joshi too came to Sitharaman’s defence, stating: “This (electoral bond) was done as per law according to the law passed by the parliament... This is incomparable to Siddharamaiah’s case.”
The court has scheduled the next hearing for October 10.
