Electoral bonds make govt corruption official: Congress
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday in Lok Sabha accused the Union government of making "government corruption official" by introducing anonymous electoral bonds, and said the earlier regulation over the influence of the rich on politics is no longer there.
Manish Tewari raised the issue during the Zero Hour but his reference to the role of the Prime Minister's Office prompted Speaker Om Birla to turn off his mic and ask another member to raise his issue, prompting protests from Congress members.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was in the House, then left her seat and led a walkout by her party members.
Earlier, Tewari said despite reservations expressed by the Reserve Bank of India and the Election Commission, the government went ahead with the introduction of electoral bond.
"This made government corruption official," he said.
There used to be control over the influence of the rich on politics earlier, Tewari said, adding this scheme introduced through the 2017 budget made donation anonymous.
People don't know who is the donor, who is the receiver and how much money has been given, he said.
He cited documents received through the RTI Act to make his point.
Under the electoral bonds scheme, the government has offered complete anonymity to those making donations. A donor could now anonymously buy a bond, and deposit it with the political party of his or her choice.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
