In 'New' India, bribes, illegal commissions are called electoral bonds: Rahul

New Delhi, Nov 18: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday took a swipe at the government over reports that it overruled the RBI to introduce electoral bonds, saying in 'New' India, bribes and illegal commissions are called electoral bonds.

The Congress on Monday alleged that the Modi government had overruled the RBI to introduce electoral bonds to enable "black money to enter the BJP coffers" and demanded that the scheme be scrapped immediately.

"In 'New' India, bribes & illegal commissions are called Electoral Bonds," Gandhi said in a tweet.

Earlier, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attacked the government on the issue, alleging that electoral bonds were "cleared by bypassing RBI" and "dismissing" national security concerns in order to enable black money to enter the BJP coffers.

In a tweet, senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said, "RTI reveals how 'electoral bonds' became instruments of anonymous donations bordering on opaque 'money laundering'. Will the Modi Govt answer: 1. How many thousand crores of bonds issued? 2. How many thousand Cr's received by BJP? 3. The 'Quid Pro Quo'?

Huffpost had reported that the RBI had objected to electoral bonds and the amendment to the RBI Act, contending that they would encourage money laundering, undermine the faith in Indian banknotes, and erode a core principle of central banking legislation.