Narendra Modi Gave Corporate India A New ID - Investigate-Donate: Congress On Alleged Corporate Raids
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh today took to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), slamming the Modi government for the government’s raid on corporate firms allegedly to make them donate to the BJP.
Praising the journalists of The News Minutes and News Laundry for doing an investigative story and revealing the companies that donated funds to the BJP after being raided by the agencies, the Congress leader said that the brave independent journalists have done a thorough investigation of two sources of campaign finance – electoral trusts and political party donations.
“Dr. Manmohan Singh gave Indian citizens a unique ID through Aadhaar. Narendra Modi has given corporate India a new ID: Investigate-Donate,” Jairam Ramesh wrote, hinting at the alleged ED and IT raid on the corporate companies and the subsequent donations of these companies to the party.
“They’ve discovered that for at least 30 firms, ED and IT raids have been followed by the investigated firms making substantial Chanda donations amounting to around Rs. 335 crores to MoShah’s (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah) coffers. From the ashes of IT and ED, MoShah has innovated this new I-D model: Investigate, then get them to Donate,” Jairam Ramesh wrote.
The Congress leader further pointed out that electoral trusts and conventional political party donations allow some degree of transparency in campaign financing. “It enables public disclosure of who funds which political party, and allows investigations like this one.”
He then lambasted Prime Minister for the electoral bonds scheme introduced in 2018 by the BJP-led government, alleging that the scheme did away with all transparency. “The media cannot conduct such an investigation on the electoral bonds. It’s clear why: they don’t want people to have insight into the Pradhan Mantri – Chanda Vasuli Yojana.” The Supreme Court however struck down the scheme last week, terming it unconstitutional.
Noting how the BJP is using the electoral bonds scheme, he further wrote, “We have any data at all is because the Electoral Bonds are only open in a few 15-day windows every year and because the investigated businesses are desperate to make donations and appease MoShah instantaneously.”
The Congress leader further raised some questions on the recent developments. Noting that the News Laundry, the news outlet that conducted investigation on the corporate donations to the BJP has also been a victim of the Enforcement and Income Tax raids, the congress leader asked if it was to intimidate journalists against speaking up to their power.
Jairam Ramesh ended his post by sarcastically noting that the Prime Minister”s 2014 campaign promise was incomplete. “It was always, ‘Na khaunga, na khaane dunga, par zabardasti chanda jama karunga,” he wrote, referring to the prime minister’s earlier remark on corruption.
Dhanda ek ko,
Chanda sab se!Dr. Manmohan Singh gave Indian citizens a unique ID through Aadhaar. Narendra Modi has given corporate India a new ID: Investigate-Donate.
The brave independent journalists at The News Minute and News Laundry have done a thorough investigation of…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 22, 2024
