Congress Member of Parliament and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the FIR filed against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The FIR relates to allegations of extorting money through the now-abolished electoral bonds. Singhvi said this development has “unmasked the true nature” of the BJP while calling for Sitharaman’s resignation. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Singhvi described the BJP’s actions as “sinister” and pointed to a pattern in how the electoral bond scheme allegedly helped certain companies avoid scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or secure their release from custody.
The FIR against Sitharaman was ordered on Friday by a Bengaluru court in response to a petition filed by Adarsh Iyer of Janadhikar Sangharsh Parishad (JSP). The petition requested action against the Union Minister for her alleged involvement in the extortion scandal. Following the court’s decision, the Tilak Nagar police station in Bengaluru was instructed to file the FIR.
Singhvi, who is also the party’s national spokesperson, further claimed that the FIR was filed following a thorough investigation, while alleging that the total amount involved is Rs 8,000 crore. He suggested that the BJP’s top leadership, in addition to Sitharaman, may also be implicated.
“There is a process for how this FIR was filed. There is a filter, an investigation takes place and after the probe, an FIR is filed. The total figure is Rs 8,000 crore. I don’t think the finance minister alone took the decision and it must have been taken from top brass. The electoral bonds scheme is an extortionist BJP scheme,” he said, reiterating his demand for Sitharaman’s resignation.
Singhvi alleged that media reports over the last year have unveiled several stories involving the misuse of electoral bonds. “The media has published many stories and facts about electoral bonds in the last year,” Singhvi stated. These stories detailed how several companies bought electoral bonds after enforcement agencies raided their offices. Singhvi pointed out that investigations in these cases slowed down following the purchases. He also revealed instances where companies with significantly low capital were able to buy massive amounts of electoral bonds, such as one company with a paid-up capital of Rs 100 crore that managed to purchase bonds worth Rs 500 crore.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also spoke at the press conference, accusing the BJP of exploiting electoral bonds through four distinct methods: prepaid transactions, postpaid deals, post-raid settlements, and through shell companies. Ramesh called for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to further investigate the matter, while demanding Sitharaman’s resignation.
