Congress Demands 100% Counting Of VVPAT Slips
New Delhi, March 17: The Congress today said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the union Home Minister Amit Shah were answerable on the “electoral bond scam as they controlled everything and also because maximum benefit had gone to the BJP only”.
The party accused the BJP of resorting to tax terrorism and surgical strike on Congress by freezing party’s accounts ahead of the General Elections.
The party hoped that the Election Commission of India will maintain and observe complete impartiality and live up to the constitutional expectations people have from it.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here today, Congress general secretary in charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh said that it was the biggest extortion racket ever run by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
Dismissing the charges leveled by the Home Minister that Congress also got the donations, he pointed out, the CBI, the ED or the Income Tax are not under the control of the Congress. Nor does the party have the authority to award big contracts like those of ports, highways and power projects, he added, while pointing out how the BJP used the agencies and power to generate a whopping Rs 6,000 crore donations through Electoral Bonds.
Ramesh said, there were four ways the BJP resorted to, to extort money to fill its coffers. First, he said, was ‘chanda do, dandda lo’ (give donations and get work). Under this, big companies were made to pay hefty donations to the BJP and given big contracts later.
Second, he said it was like ‘hafta vasuli’ (extortion) where the investigating agencies like the ED, the Income Tax and the CBI were let loose on companies and forced to pay donations to the BJP. He quoted the example of Hyderabad based Aurobindo Pharmas which was first subjected to ED investigation and later let off after it purchased Electoral Bonds.
Third way, he said, was a direct bribe for getting work done. He disclosed that even a BJP MP himself was made to buy the Electoral Bond in lieu of a contract he got.
Fourth method, Ramesh said, was setting up shell companies. He pointed out, these companies have been found to have purchased electoral bonds worth much more than their total worth.
Without mentioning the name of Adani group, the Congress general secretary remarked that he was surprised not to find “one particular name”. But, he added, then he realized that since it is an “in house” company, it won’t need to be subjected to extortion.
Alleging that the BJP had resorted to tax terrorism and surgical strike on the Congress trying to handicap it financially, he pointed out, on the one hand it had amassed Rs 6,000 crore through Electoral Bonds and on the other hand had frozen the bank accounts of the Congress.
On the Model Code of Conduct, he hoped that the ECI acts in an impartial way and treats everybody at a par. He hoped that the complaints against the Prime Minister and Home Minister will also be taken note of the way EC takes note of the complaints against the opposition parties and leaders.
Replying to a question on such a long electoral schedule, he remarked, this appears to have been done to facilitate the Prime Minster to campaign everywhere.
He reiterated his party’s demand that there should be a hundred percent count of the VVPAT slips. He clarified that the Congress party does not demand going back to paper ballots, it only wants 100 percent count of the VVPAT slips so that voters’ confidence is restored.
On the successful conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Ramesh said it had covered 106 districts after traveling a distance of 6,300 kms. He said, along with the Bharat Jodo Yatra earlier in which 76 districts were covered, Gandhi has walked through 181 districts and reached out to lakhs of people.
He said, concluding the Nyay Yatra at the Chaityabhoomi, Mumbai, the memorial of Dr BR Ambedkar was the befitting tribute to the architect of the Constitution of India particularly at a time when demands are being raised to change this constitution.
The Congress general secretary also announced that the CWC meeting will be held on March 19 which will discuss the party Manifesto.
He said, the Congress party will fight the election on the issue of ‘Five Nyays’ (five types of justice) including the “Bhagidari Nyay”, “Kisan Nyay”, “Nari Nyay”, “Shramik Nyay” and “Yuva Nyay” with twenty five guarantees, five each for each Nyay which have been already announced by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi.
“These are the guarantees by the Congress party and not by a single person”, he remarked in an obvious jibe at the Prime Minister who has been claiming to provide “Modi ki guarantee”.
To a question on ED summons to Arvind Kejriwal, he said, the BJP has used the investigating agencies against the opposition leaders. He said, instead of acting as statutory bodies, the ED, the CBI and the IT department had ended up as frontal organisations of the BJP.
