Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said those criticising the use of electoral bonds will “soon regret it” as the now-scrapped scheme provided details on the source of funding to political parties.
“People who are protesting against electoral bonds will soon regret it. Before 2014, there was no trail of funds given to political parties during elections. I introduced the electoral bonds. Thanks to the electoral bonds, we can now trace the source of funding,” he said.
“Nothing is perfect, imperfections can be addressed,” he added.
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Modi made the remarks during an interview with Thanti TV in Tamil Nadu that was broadcast on Sunday.
On February 15, the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme, notified in 2018, as unconstitutional and asked the State Bank of India and Election Commission of India to disclose all details of bonds purchased and encashed from April 2019.
The verdict came ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and was immediately welcomed by opposition parties and civil society activists. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the biggest recipient of funds in all election cycles analysed by HT, except during the Bihar 2020 election cycle, when it was the fourth biggest recipient.
{{/usCountry}}The verdict came ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and was immediately welcomed by opposition parties and civil society activists. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the biggest recipient of funds in all election cycles analysed by HT, except during the Bihar 2020 election cycle, when it was the fourth biggest recipient.
{{/usCountry}}Besides electoral bonds, Modi also spoke on the severing of ties between the BJP and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu and termed the development a latter’s “loss”.
“Our friendship was strong. If there is any regret, it should be from the AIADMK side, not the BJP,” he said.
“Only those who are committing sins by destroying the dreams of Amma (AIADMK chief late J Jayalalithaa) should regret, not us,” he added.
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In September last year, the AIADMK walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance that it had joined in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The AIADMK blamed Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai for differences between the two parties.
Modi also said that his every action is not driven solely by electoral considerations or pursuit of power, adding that if electoral victory was his sole aim, he would not have prioritised the development of the northeastern region.
“If merely winning elections was my goal, I would not have worked for the development of the northeast. I have visited northeastern states more than all of the former prime ministers combined,” he said.