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Congress reacts to Nirmala Sitharaman's ‘huge assumption’ remark on electoral bonds
Nirmala Sitharaman said linking raids by central probe agencies on firms and their subsequent donations to electoral bonds is nothing but assumptions.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has given a sharp reaction to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman dismissing claims of link between raids by central probe agencies on firms and their subsequent donations to electoral bonds.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Ramesh asked Sitharaman to ensure the release of full data related to electoral bonds to reveal the donors and the beneficiary political parties.
"The Finance Minister says that the link between the ED/CBI/IT raids on firms and their subsequent donations to the BJP are based on “assumptions.” If these “assumptions” are untrue, then we invite her to release the full data of who donated how much to which political party. It will put an end to the discussion once and for all," wrote Ramesh.
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The Congress leader went on to label the controversy surrounding electoral bonds as "scam" and also took a dig at the ED raids on organisations, political leaders etc.
"It must be remembered that the Finance Minister is in charge of both the State Bank of India, which administers the #ElectoralBondScam, and the Enforcement Directorate, which enforces the Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana," wrote Ramesh.
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What Nirmala Sitharaman had said
In an interaction with India Today, Sitharaman dismissed speculations over link between raids by central probe agencies on firms and their subsequent donations to electoral bonds, calling it "assumptions".
"I think you've based yourself on huge assumptions, that the money was given after the Enforcement Directorate raid happened," Sitharaman said.
On Thursday, the Election Commission of India uploaded data on electoral bonds, provided by the State Bank of India(SBI). Supreme Court of India had asked the bank to disclose details of electoral bonds. As per the details shared, lottery company Future Gaming and Hotel Services is the top purchaser of electoral bonds.
