A fresh perspective on Pandora’s box: The Electoral Bonds Scheme and its revelations
The electoral bonds demand a meticulous investigation to uncover additional revelations.
Source : India Today
In the past month, following a court order, the State Bank of India disclosed information regarding donations made through electoral bonds to political parties, revealing concerning details.
An investigation by The Hindu uncovered that numerous companies with significant losses donated large sums of money, with a majority going to the ruling BJP, raising suspicions of money laundering and tax evasion. At least 33 businesses with combined losses above ₹1 lakh crore between 2016–17 and 2022–2023 contributed over ₹582 crore, of which 75% went to the BJP, which is currently in power. Large amounts of money were being donated by profit-making businesses exceeding their total profits. Some donor corporations were not disclosing information about their net earnings or direct tax revenue. and profit-making businesses were exceeding their total profits.
At Trinamool Congress Camp, Dilip Ghosh,,,https://globalsnews.com/at-the-trinamool-camp-dilip-ghosh/
Several questions are raised by the nature of these donations. Were these losing companies only fronts for money laundering? Were the companies that withheld their profits and losses front companies? Did donor companies that made large profits participate in tax evasion if they failed to pay net direct taxes overall for an extended period of time? These add to the other questions posed earlier: was it a sign that agencies like the Income-Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate were being used to secure quid pro quo given that several companies that were the subject of their investigations were major donors to the ruling party?
Despite warnings from officials at the Reserve Bank of India and Election Commission of India about the potential misuse of the bonds scheme, the Union Finance Ministry proceeded with its implementation, resulting in substantial amounts being received by political parties over the years.