Taking a jibe at the opposition, Goyal said that in some parties, leaders became rich while the BJP used political funds for the right purpose only
New Delhi: On Thursday Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Piyush Goyal said electoral bonds “brought in honest money” in politics. Hours after the Congress protested in the Lok Sabha, the minister made remarks by saying that through the issuance of electoral bonds the government had made corruption “official”.
While addressing the media on the issue of electoral bonds, Goyal said that for the first time in the nation, a government has taken a decisive step which promotes electoral funding and it is unique that those who are themselves indulged in corruption are opposing it the most. “Earlier there have been cases of Prime Ministers allegedly accepting suitcases of cash, of various scams including Bofors, Jeep, 2G, Coalgate, etc
Goyal said “The allegations against the government over electoral bonds are baseless. The Modi government has, in fact, for the first time, taken a number of steps against corruption,” Goyal also said. On the Election Commission’s recommendation, the Narendra Modi government banned cash donations above Rs 2,000.
The opposition Congress protested in both the houses Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha demanded that the government disclose all details about electoral bonds, alleging the scheme resulted in money laundering and destroyed transparency in the funding of political parties.
Congress leader Manish Tiwari Describing electoral bonds as a “political bribery scheme”, said Right To Information (RTI) replies revealed the government had overruled serious objections by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to introduce electoral bonds, which allow anonymous funding to be funneled to the coffers of political parties through bearer instruments issued by the State Bank of India (SBI).
Taking a jibe at the opposition, Goyal said that in some parties, leaders became rich while the BJP used political funds for the right purpose only.
On a day the Congress accused the BJP of making “government corruption official” by bringing in the concept of electoral bonds, Goyal asked why the opposition had not refused funds donated to it through these bonds. Union Minister said the government took almost a year to address the concerns of the RBI and the EC over the issue of bonds and expressed confidence the poll panel will now be satisfied after experiencing the transparency and honest money brought in political funding.
All the information about the electoral bonds are in public domain and can be accessed through Right To Information (RTI), he said, dismissing reports over the matter as “no new revelations”.
When the question asked about the BJP drawing a huge share of corporate funding, Goyal said it is natural as the saffron party is much bigger than the Congress in its strength and many organizations also reject the “corrupt ideology” propagated by the opposition party.
He added that the details of electoral bonds, including those of donors and donees, have been deliberately kept away from the public eye so that people can use them to donate to the party of their choice without fearing any harassment. Goyal said that when Congress in power they used to go after those who donated money to the BJP through cheques. That is why the Modi government brought in electoral bonds and also banned donations in cash for more than Rs 2000 in its bid to curb the use of black money and usher in transparency.
“Our government has ensured that the money going into politics is accounted,” said Goyal, adding these bonds are non-transferable, can be redeemed only within 15 days, and be deposited to only a designated account of political parties. Only KYC-compliance entities can purchase these bonds. On the EC’s recommendation, the government banned cash donations above Rs 2,000, he said.
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