SBI moves SC seeking extension of time to disclose details of electoral bonds
Last-ditch attempt to hide Modi's real face before polls, says Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Mar 4: State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties
In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the poll panel by March 6.
In an application filed before the top court, State Bank of India (SBI) contended that retrieval of information from "each silo" and the procedure of matching the information of one silo to that of the other would be a time-consuming exercise.
The plea submitted that due to stringent measures undertaken to ensure that the identity of the donors was kept anonymous, "decoding' the electoral bonds and matching donors to the donations made would be a complex process.
"It submitted that the data related to the issuance of the bond and the data related to the redemption of the bond was kept recorded in two different silos. No central database was maintained. This was done to ensure that donors' anonymity would be protected.
"It is submitted that donor details were kept in a sealed cover at the designated branches and all such sealed covers were deposited in the Main Branch of the Applicant bank, which is located in Mumbai," the plea said.
In a landmark judgement that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on February 15 annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information.
In its verdict months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the apex court ordered SBI to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed that the SBI must disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. The information should include the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds and be submitted to the poll panel by March 6.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the government over the State Bank of India moving the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time to disclose electoral bond details, terming it a "last-ditch attempt" before the Lok Sabha polls to hide Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "real face".
The State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the poll panel by March 6.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi has put his entire force in order to hide the 'donation business'."
"When the Supreme Court has stated that it is the right of the people of the country to know the truth about electoral bonds, then why does the SBI not want this information to be made public before the elections?" the former Congress chief said.
Asking for time till June 30 to provide information that can be retrieved in one click shows that the whole matter is fishy, he claimed.
"Every independent organization of the country is becoming part of the 'Modani family' in trying to cover up their corruption," Gandhi alleged, adding, "This is the 'last ditch attempt' to hide Modi's 'real face' before the elections."
नरेंद्र मोदी ने ‘चंदे के धंधे’ को छिपाने के लिए पूरी ताकत झोंक दी है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 4, 2024
जब सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने कहा है कि इलेक्टोरल बॉण्ड का सच जानना देशवासियों का हक़ है, तब SBI क्यों चाहता है कि चुनाव से पहले यह जानकारी सार्वजनिक न हो पाए?
एक क्लिक पर निकाली जा सकने वाली जानकारी के लिए 30 जून तक…
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BJP using money garnered from paper leaks to fund Jharkhand poll campaign, alleges Soren
Ranchi (PTI): Taking a dig at the central investigative agencies, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday claimed that they were busy probing incidents like "chicken theft" while cases like the examination paper leaks in UP remain untouched at the behest of the BJP.
Soren alleged that the BJP was behind the paper leaks in the states it ruled, and the money it garnered from there was being used to fund its poll campaigns.
"The pomp and show that you are seeing from BJP in Jharkhand elections is all due to the money from paper leaks... ED, CBI, NIA which have started investigating even chicken theft cases these days did not probe paper leaks because it is the BJP that leaks these and with that money, it buys MLAs and MPs post elections," Soren alleged in a post on X.
"Exam papers were leaked in all BJP-ruled states... MP Vyapam scam claimed several lives. In Jharkhand, we made tough law post one paper leak but BJP went to Raj Bhavan terming it a black law," he alleged.
Soren claimed that had he not been "harassed" by the ED and CBI in "false" cases, he would have created several new posts in the government and ensured large-scale recruitments.
