Opposition Takes Aim at Modi Govt’s ‘Lies’ on Electoral Bonds

Opposition takes the govt head-on about its ‘anonymous’ electoral bonds, saying they are being used to harass them.

In a major blow to the Narendra Modi government, the Opposition have turned the heat up on the ruling party after The Quint’s investigation revealed that the Ministry of Finance misled the public by claiming that the identity of donors to political parties via electoral bonds would remain anonymous.

Taking cognisance of the report, the Arun Jaitley-led Ministry of Finance, in its press release issued on 17 April, said, “The electoral bonds have some built-in security features to eliminate chances of forgery or presentation of fake bonds.”

But the Opposition parties aren’t buying what the Modi government is selling.

The Congress tweeted, “Modi Govt’s lies on electoral bond stand exposed”.

The Modi Govt's lies on electoral bond stand exposed. Unlike Finance Minister's claim, the identity of the political donor is evidently not kept confidential. https://t.co/Cj7mE6CbHb

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 18, 2018

In an exclusive interview to The Quint, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP-led government simply wants to snoop on donors to Opposition parties through the bonds.

“It is an important issue because if Opposition parties want to know who is donating funds to the ruling party, they will never succeed. But the ruling party will know who all have funded Opposition parties. Maybe by doing this, the ruling party wants to stop election funding to Opposition parties. The Election Commission says that political parties can collect funds. The BJP has made such laws such that they can get huge funds and the Opposition can’t. But Opposition parties aren’t going to worry.”

Senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ashutosh, tweeted, “Is the government snooping on donors of opposition parties to harass and unleash IT department on them?”

Is the govt snooping on donors of opposition parties to harass and unleash IT dept on them? The expose by @TheQuint is eye opener for all the parties minus BJP. It has to be protested.

— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) April 12, 2018

Congress National Secretary and spokesperson Madhu Goud Yakshi called the issue of electoral bonds indicative of a “heavy bias in favour of ruling party”.

The recent revelation by The Quint has raised questions about the other major issue with #ElectoralBonds – its heavy bias in favour of ruling party. | @RahulGandhihttps://t.co/Pfw83fF3Sl

— Madhu Goud Yaskhi (@MYaskhi) April 17, 2018

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the Modi government “Very 007”.

Electoral bonds aren’t as anonymous as they were made out to be it seems! A secret alpha-numeric number that only shows up under UV light is embedded in each bond. Very 007! https://t.co/YmRuQXCpN6

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 12, 2018

With these hidden unique serial numbers, the Modi government has made the identities of donors discoverable only to the ruling party, not to the public or opposition parties. Is this transparency?

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