Amit Shah rebuts Rahul Gandhi’s claim that Electoral Bonds are being used for extortion.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an interview with NDTV, addressing the opposition’s accusations about the now-scrapped electoral bonds system. He questioned whether opposition parties would also label the donations they received through bonds as “extortion.”

This response was prompted by Rahul Gandhi’s characterization of the electoral bonds system as the “world’s biggest extortion scheme” and his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “champion of corruption.” Amit Shah countered the opposition’s allegations by pointing out that their parties had also received donations through bonds.

He challenged Rahul Gandhi to disclose whether they had also engaged in extortion, emphasizing that the proportion of donations they received in relation to the number of MPs was higher than what his party received. Shah dismissed the opposition’s allegations of corruption and asserted that they were attempting to sow confusion, but would not succeed.

The Supreme Court made a significant ruling on February 15, invalidating the electoral bonds scheme on the grounds that it violated citizens’ right to information. The scheme was deemed unconstitutional and arbitrary and was believed to potentially facilitate a quid pro quo arrangement between political parties and donors.

The court held that the scheme’s objective of combating black money and ensuring donor confidentiality could not justify its existence, and that electoral bonds were not the sole means to combat black money. Subsequent data released by the State Bank of India and made public by the Election Commission of India revealed that the BJP had received the highest amount of funds through these bonds, totaling Rs 6,986.5 crore since their introduction in 2018.

The Trinamool Congress followed with Rs 1,397 crore and the Congress with Rs 1,334 crore.