'Prepaid, postpaid & even post-raid bribes': Congress demands SC-monitored probe into electoral bonds scheme

Stepping up its attack on the BJP-led government over the electoral bonds issue, the Congress on Saturday said the 'opaque scheme' ensured that 'prepaid, postpaid and even post-raid bribes' could be routed through the banking channel.

New Delhi: Congress on Saturday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the electoral bond donations to the ruling BJP, claiming that the Narendra Modi government granted 179 contracts worth Rs 3.84 lakh crore to 38 corporate groups after receiving Rs 2,004 crore from them. 

It alleged that the SBI sought time till June 30 for matching the donor and redeemer details as the Modi government did not want it to be out in public domain though the party’s in-house experts “wrote a computer code (Python) for it in 15 seconds and matched the data in 30 seconds”. It released the ‘Python’ code to the public.

Addressing a press conference, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the I.N.D.I.A. bloc would surely go ahead with a SIT probe monitored by the apex court once they assume power. 

Claiming that the “opaque scheme” ensured that “prepaid, postpaid and even post-raid bribes” could be routed through the banking channel, he said it is the Prime Minister who gave a guarantee of bringing back black money and instead “legalised” corruption while “desperately trying to hide it”.

“The matched database of the electoral bond donors and the recipients, when combined with publicly available information on contracts, project clearances, raids and other similar events, prima facie paints a clear and sordid picture of legalisation of corruption,” he said.

“Thirty-eight corporate groups, which have got 179 major contracts and project approvals from the central or BJP state governments have donated electoral bonds. These companies have got a total worth of Rs. 3.8 lakh crore in projects and contracts, in exchange for Rs 2,004 crore in electoral bonds donations to the BJP,” he added.

Of these, Ramesh claimed, corporates donated Rs 551 crore and within three months they received clearances for projects worth Rs 1.32 lakh crore. He also alleged contracts worth Rs 62,000 crore were given after corporates donated Rs 580 crore.

He also claimed several corporate groups paid Rs 1,853 crore as donations after raids by ED, CBI and Income Tax Department.