Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the electoral bond issue and dubbed it as an extortion racket.
The MP addressed an election rally in the Cauvery heartland of Mandya on April 17, along with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.
Mr. Gandhi referred to Mr. Modi’s interview to ANI recently in which the Prime Minister tried to project the electoral bonds as something that would help cleanse the political system. But Mr. Gandhi described he electoral bonds as the world’s biggest scam, and said it was akin to an extortion racket operated by ‘petty, goonda elements’.
The Supreme Court of India had annulled the scheme and described it as illegal, and though Mr. Modi tried to justify it, he appeared shaky. “Mr. Modi’s hands were quivering during the interview while speaking on the electoral bonds,” said Mr. Gandhi.
He accused the BJP of using the electoral bonds to intimidate businesspersons and industrialists into buying it for a quid pro quo.
‘’The Supreme Court forced the authorities to put out the data pertaining to the purchase of bonds in the public domain, and it has transpired that those who benefited from government contracts had purchased it,” said Mr. Rahul Gandhi. Those being investigated by the CBI and ED had cases closed on purchase of the bonds.
Mr. Gandhi said the coming Lok Sabha elections was a clash of two sets of ideology of which the Congress and the INDIA block represented the forces that fought for freedom, ushered in a constitutional democracy and worked for the poor while the BJP was antithetical to such views, and it is a government run for the benefit of about 25 corporate bigwigs.
He accused the BJP of a pro-rich slant. While it did nothing to better the living conditions of farmers, it had waived off loans to the tune of ₹16 lakh crore of about 25 corporates and industrialists. “This is the quantum of money which would have funded the MGNREGA scheme for 24 years,” said Mr. Gandhi. “Wherever there is a BJP government in a State, the farmers are upset due to agrarian distress, and the failure of the government to redress their grievances.”
