"Biggest extortion racket": Rahul blasts Centre over electoral bond scheme

THANE: Adding to the chorus of opposition against the BJP-led Centre after the publication of the details of political funding through electoral bonds on the official portal of the Election Commission (EC), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday labelled the electoral bond scheme as the "biggest extortion racket in the world".

Addressing a press conference on Friday, on the sidelines of his ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Rahul claimed that the ED and CBI are no longer autonomous institutions but are weapons in the hands of the BJP and RSS to target Opposition leaders.

In a post on X, Rahul, fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, "Narendra Modi ran the world's largest extortion racket in the name of electoral bonds."

"The sovereign institutions of the country, be it the ED, the Election Commission of India or the CBI, are no longer autonomous bodies but are weapons in the hands of the BJP and RSS. If these institutions had done their job as they should, things wouldn't have come to this pass. When this BJP government goes, these agencies will face action. The action against them will be such that these incidents (alleged harassment of Opposition leaders) are not repeated. I can guarantee," the Congress MP said at the press conference.

Taking a further swipe at the BJP, Rahul accused the ruling party at the Centre of destroying the country's 'institutional framework'. "The BJP has shackled and destroyed the institutional framework of the country. This is the single biggest anti-national activity under this government.

The CBI, ED, and the Income Tax Department are being used to extort big firms. They are being contracted (for political and electoral funding) before being rewarded with government contracts," the Congress leader alleged.

Describing the Centre's electoral bond scheme as the 'brain child' of Prime Minister Modi, Rahul added, "This scheme is the brain child of the PM, who said the electoral bonds would cleanse the country's politics (by ensuring checks and balances)."

To a media query about the electoral bond scheme, the Congress leader said, "These are not allegations but facts. If you look closely at some of these companies (that donated to the BJP), you will see that they did not give money to the BJP till the ED or CBI filed cases against them."

Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also hit out at PM Modi over electoral bond scheme, saying he should be held to account for minting money out of electoral bonds.