Ghaziabad, 17 April: Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, described electoral bonds as the world’s largest extortion scheme on Wednesday, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a corruption champion.
During a joint news conference with Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav here, the former Congress chief also stated that there is a strong undercurrent in support of the opposition INDIA bloc, and the BJP will be restricted to 150 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
This is an ideological election. Gandhi stated, “On the one hand, there is the RSS and the BJP who are trying to end the Constitution and the democratic system of the country, and on the other hand, there is the INDIA bloc which is protecting and defending the Constitution and the democratic system,” he said during a news conference accompanied by Yadav, Congress national secretaries Jairam Ramesh and Avinash Pande, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai, and other SP officials.
Gandhi claimed that while there are a few major concerns in the Lok Sabha elections, such as unemployment and price increases, the BJP is attempting to distract attention away from them. He remarked that PM occasionally goes under water in the ocean and sometimes travels by aircraft but does not discuss topics.
Gandhi referred to Modi’s latest interview as planned and a failed show, with the prime minister also explaining electoral bomds. The Prime Minister said that electoral bonds were introduced to provide transparency to politics, but Gandhi questioned why the Supreme Court had discontinued them.
He then said, “If you wanted to bring transparency, why were the names of those who donated thousands of crores (of rupees) to the BJP hidden?” He inquired why the dates on which firms donated to the BJP were disguised.
It was discovered that a corporation received a contract for thousands of crores (of rupees) and then donated to the BJP a few days later. There was a CBI or ED investigation into the business, and after 10-15 days, the firm made a payment to the BJP, and the investigation was closed, he claimed.
The Congress leader said that the electoral bonds program is the world’s largest extortion racket. Gandhi claimed that no amount of clarification provided by the prime minister will make a difference since the people is aware that the prime minister is a corruption champion.
When asked how many seats he anticipates the Congress-SP alliance to win, Gandhi stated that he does not forecast a specific number of seats but is certain that the coalition would perform well in Uttar Pradesh. Regarding the overall scenario, he stated, “15-20 days ago, it appeared like the BJP would win 180 seats. It now appears that it will only go up to 150 seats. We are receiving information from every state that our position is strengthening, and there is an undercurrent (in favor of the INDIA bloc).” “Our coalition in Uttar Pradesh is really powerful. Our performance will be excellent,” he stated.
