Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Ajay Maken and K C Venugopal
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday demanded an investigation "at the highest level" into funds received by the BJP through electoral bonds and that the saffron party's accounts must be frozen until the probe is over.
Addressing a news conference here, Kharge pointed out that the BJP received more than 50% of the electoral bonds. "There are many dubious donors. How can (BJP) get so much money?" he said.
Kharge charged that most donors were under the scanner of the Income Tax or Enforcement Directorate (ED). "Modi and his party pressurised these people to donate," he said.
The Congress veteran juxtaposed this with his party's accounts being frozen. "They've frozen nearly Rs 300 crore of ours. How can we face an election? You (BJP) are collecting crores of rupees in electoral bonds. Congress got donations from its workers, MPs and others. While our account is frozen, theirs is open," he said, adding that the BJP received over Rs 6,000 crore through bonds.
Kharge said that if there was a level playing field, then donors would have donated freely. "But here, you book cases and harass them," he said. "Therefore, I demand an inquiry at the highest level. Unless the truth is out, their (BJP) accounts should also be frozen. A special investigation must be done," he said.
Kharge also said PM Modi should be held accountable. "He's the main man. PM himself claims that it is 'Modi Ki Sarkar, Modi Ki Party, Modi Ki Guarnatee...' it's as if the country got freedom only in 2014 (when he became PM)," he said.
Asked if the Congress will move the Supreme Court seeking freezing of BJP's accounts, Kharge said: "I'm now demanding that. The next course of action will be discussed in the working committee meeting shortly. I can't decide without consulting. I'm not Modi."
AICC treasurer Ajay Maken said a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were issued. "But details of 18,871 bonds have been made public. The details of 3,346 bonds worth Rs 2,500 crore are not available. Who is the Modi government and SBI trying to shield? This is the biggest discrepancy," he said. "When the Supreme Court itself has said that the electoral bond scheme is unconstitutional, then how should the BJP be allowed to use the money?" he said.