Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has openly questioned Prime Minister Modi about the lack of transparency in the electoral bonds system. This comes after PM Modi accused opposition parties of spreading falsehoods about the scheme, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In an interview, Gehlot accused the BJP of pressuring individuals to donate money through electoral bonds by using threats of investigations by enforcement agencies like the ED and CBI.
Gehlot highlighted that the issue of electoral bonds only gained attention after the Supreme Court's ruling, suggesting a lack of transparency before the court's intervention. Furthermore, he criticized PM Modi for not adequately addressing the allegations raised by the opposition regarding the usage of electoral bonds for collecting funds. In contrast, PM Modi defended the electoral bonds, emphasizing that the scheme aimed to reduce the influence of black money in elections and shift towards more transparency.
PM Modi also pointed out that a significant portion of the donations from companies post the action by investigative agencies went to opposition parties rather than solely to the BJP. He framed the electoral bonds as a positive step towards ensuring visibility into political party funding and contended that improvements could still be made to the scheme. The conflicting views on the Electoral Bonds Scheme have become a focal point in the political discourse, with opposition parties using the scheme's controversial nature to criticize the BJP-led government during the election campaign.