Cong demands reply from PM Modi, Home Minister Shah on electoral bonds

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters in the national capital, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked, "Where did this money come from and whose money is it? The Home Minister has to reply on electoral bonds."

The party pointed out that a company with reported profits of Rs 20 crore bought electoral bonds worth Rs 400 crore and questioned the legitimacy of such a transaction.

Ramesh alleged that electoral bonds were "clearly a route for money laundering".

He said the companies gave crores of rupees to BJP through electoral bonds, using "donate and take business, extortion, pay bribe and take contract and create shell company and donate".

The Congress leader accused the BJP-led government of conducting a 'surgical strike' on Congress by freezing its bank accounts and rendering it 'economically handicapped' through 'tax terrorism'.

He said, "We went to the Tribunal but did not get any relief. We went to high court and there, too, we did not get any relief. We will now approach the Supreme Court."

He also questioned the duration of the Lok Sabha polls, saying that seven stages meant the Prime Minister gets more time to campaign.

On the Election Commission, the Congress leader said, "The Election Commission is a Constitutional body whose job is to conduct free and fair elections. But for the last 10 months, the leaders of the INDIA alliance have been seeking an appointment with the EC on issue of VVPAT. But we have not been given time.

"We are not against the EVMs but against the Electronic Voting 'Manipulation'. We just want the VVPAT to be matched 100 percent," he said.

On a question on ED issuing fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Congress leader said, "For the last four to five years, ED has been misused. Opposition parties have been made a scapegoat. ED, CBI, and IT are being used by the government, when they see threats from the Opposition. These agencies have become BJP's frontal organisations," he said.

Ramesh also informed that on Tuesday the party will have a meeting of its Manifesto Working Committee and the manifesto will be released.

He added that the guarantees given by party president Mallikarjun Kharge were from the party manifesto.

(With UNI inputs)