Congress Slams Modi Govt's Electoral Bond Move: Desperate Tactics Or Strategic Maneuver?

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday vehemently accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of exploiting the State Bank of India (SBI) to conceal its purported "dubious dealings".

The plea, filed by the SBI, seeks additional time from the Supreme Court to disclose details regarding electoral bonds.

Photo Credit: PTI

Congress Slams Modi Govt's Electoral Bond Move

Following a directive from the Supreme Court to disclose information regarding bonds encashed by political parties, the SBI, India's largest bank, approached the apex court, requesting an extension of the deadline until June 30. Kharge characterized the electoral bonds scheme as opaque and undemocratic, asserting that the BJP government was leveraging the bank as a protective shield.

Criticism was directed at the SBI's plea by Kharge, who alleged that the BJP sought to delay the sharing of details until after the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to conclude by June 30. Accusing the BJP of being the primary beneficiary of the scheme, Kharge alleged that the government was conveniently concealing the party's questionable transactions through opaque electoral bonds, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Kharge further accused the Modi government of attempting to exploit the SBI to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling. Congress MP Manish Tewari urged the Supreme Court not to allow the SBI to evade accountability regarding electoral bonds. Rahul Gandhi, in a critique posted on social media, condemned Narendra Modi for concealing the 'donation business' and questioned SBI's reluctance to disclose information before the elections.

In its plea, the SBI explained that the anonymous nature of donations and the decentralized recording of data regarding bond issuance and redemption contributed to the time-consuming nature of retrieving information, as reported by PTI.