Calling for a probe, senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who represented one of the petitioners who challenged the electoral bonds scheme, alleged Friday that 41 companies facing probe by CBI, ED and I-T Department had donated Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP through bonds. Of this, he alleged, Rs 1,698 crore was donated after raids by these agencies, with “Rs 121 crore given just in the three months after the raids”.
Speaking to reporters a day after the Election Commission released fresh data with unique bond numbers linking donors to the recipient parties, Bhushan also alleged that 33 groups of companies which purchased the bonds had got “172 major contracts and project approvals from the Government”.
“They (the companies) have got a total of Rs 3.7 lakh crore in projects and contracts, in exchange for Rs 1,751 crore electoral bond donations to the BJP,” he alleged.
In at least 49 cases, Bhushan alleged, Rs 62,000 crore in postpaid contracts/ project approvals were given by the Centre or BJP-led state governments, for which the BJP got Rs 580 crore in “kickbacks” within three months in the form of bonds.
Bhushan alleged that there was information that more than half of money received by redeeming electoral bonds was “taken as bribe, by giving contracts and by showing fear of ED and CBI”. He demanded an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) be set up to probe the “tripartite conspiracy”.
“Inquiry should be done about whoever was involved, like companies who gave electoral bonds and received contracts and also got relief from the ED, IT and CBI… officials who were involved in this conspiracy…,” he said.