Siddaramaiah questions PM Modi on electoral bond issue
Bengaluru, Mar 16: Terming electoral bonds as a "scam" and the "biggest corruption scandal in the world", Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi about BJP's alleged silence on the issue.
Questioning the PM, who was on a visit to the state today, Siddaramaiah wondered if the union government was "misusing" its investigative agencies to extort donations and insisted that the Supreme Court should establish a Special Investigation Committee to probe the electoral bond "scam", and, until then, freeze the bank accounts of BJP.
"Welcome to Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Please answer why is BJP silent about the electoral bond scam - the biggest corruption scandal in the world?" Siddarmaiah posted on social media platform X.
ALSO READ: PM launches scathing attack on Cong govt in Karnataka, says it's engaged in "loot"
"For a decade, you held power, promising to bring back black money from Swiss Bank, eliminate black money via demonetisation, claiming 'Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga', and being the so-called 'Chowkidar of the Nation'. Now, it is time for you to address the issues surrounding the electoral bond scam," he said.
"Despite the Supreme Court's order, why is the State Bank of India (SBI) hesitant to provide complete information? If the sale and purchase of electoral bonds was conducted legally, why is SBI concealing information? Who is exerting pressure on SBI," he asked, demanding Modi's response.
Modi today formally launched the party's Lok Sabha election campaign in the state in Kalaburagi, the home turf of Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge.
Claiming that the information released by the Election Commission--which the media is scrutinising-- it appears that the BJP government at the centre is "blackmailing" businessmen, Siddaramaiah said, "When we look at the dates of IT, ED, and CBI raids on these businessmen and the dates they purchased electoral bonds, it seems like a clear case of blackmail."
"Is the union government misusing its investigative agencies to extort donations? Is the electoral bond a political weapon of mass extortion in the hands of BJP? Prime Minister Narendra Modi, please respond," he said.
Based on emerging information, it seems that a significant number of participants in the electoral bond scam are from infrastructure and pharmaceutical firms, he said.
"How reliable are the roads, bridges, and buildings constructed by such fraudulent organisations? How safe are the medicines produced by these corrupt entities, BJP? Shouldn't you, Prime Minister Modi, be the one to answer these questions," Siddaramaiah questioned.
The chief minister said that the Supreme Court, by thoroughly exposing the electoral bond scam, has raised suspicions among every citizen about the misuse of their tax money, and people strongly believe that the union government is fully involved in this fraud.
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New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks alliances in Europe as he deals with Trump
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Montreal, Quebec (AP): New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Paris and London on Monday to seek alliances as he deals with US President Donald Trump's attacks on Canada's sovereignty and economy.
Carney is purposely making his first foreign trip to the capital cities of the two countries that shaped Canada's early existence.
At his swearing-in ceremony on Friday, Carney noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous, and said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”
A senior government government official briefed reporters on the plane before picking up Carney in Montreal and said the purpose of the trip is to double down on partnerships on with Canada's two founding countries. The official said Canada is a “good friend of the United States but we all know what is going on.”
“The Trump factor is the reason for the trip. The Trump factor towers over everything else Carney must deal with,” said Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto.
Carney, a former central banker who turned 60 on Sunday, will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday and later travel to London to sit down with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an effort to diversify trade and perhaps coordinate a response to Trump's tariffs.
He will also meet with King Charles III, the head of state in Canada. The trip to England is a bit a homecoming, as Carney is a former governor of the Bank of England, the first noncitizen to be named to the role in the bank's 300-plus-year history.
Carney then travels to the edge of Canada's Arctic to “reaffirm Canada's Arctic security and sovereignty” before returning to Ottawa where he's expected to call an election within days.
Carney has said he's ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he doesn't plan to visit Washington at the moment but hopes to have a phone call with the president soon.
Sweeping tariffs of 25% and Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
Carney's government is reviewing the purchase of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump's trade war.
The governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war and repeatedly has said Canada should become the 51st state. Now the party and its new leader could come out on top.
Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, said Carney is wise not to visit Trump.
"There's no point in going to Washington," Bothwell said. "As (former Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau's treatment shows, all that results in is a crude attempt by Trump to humiliate his guests. Nor can you have a rational conversation with someone who simply sits there and repeats disproven lies."
Bothwell said that Trump demands respect, “but it's often a one-way street, asking others to set aside their self-respect to bend to his will.”
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it is absolutely essential that Canada diversify trade amidst the ongoing trade war with the United States. More than 75% of Canada's exports go to the U.S.
Béland said Arctic sovereignty is also a key issue for Canada.
“President Trump's aggressive talk about both Canada and Greenland and the apparent rapprochement between Russia, a strong Arctic power, and the United States under Trump have increased anxieties about our control over this remote yet highly strategic region,” Béland said.
