Electoral bond biggest scam in the world, will cost BJP heavily: Economist Parakala Prabhakar

The Electoral Bond Scheme is the biggest scam in the world and will cost India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heavily, renowned economist Parakala Prabhakar said on Wednesday (27 March).

"The electoral bond issue will gain much more momentum than what it is today. Everybody is now understanding that it is not only the biggest scam in India but is the biggest scam in the world. Because of this issue, this government will be severely punished by the electorate," Prabhakar, former spokesperson of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP and husband of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, told local media.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP is the major beneficiary of the electoral bonds as per the data available on the official website of the Election Commission of India, reports The Mint.

The party received the maximum funds via electoral bonds at ₹6,986.5 crore between 12 April 2019 and 15 February 2024, followed by West Bengal's ruling party Trinamool Congress, which collected ₹1,397 crore, it added.

Among other major parties, Congress received ₹1,334 crore through the electoral bonds and Bharat Rashtra Samithi received ₹1,322 crore.

In February, the Indian Supreme Court quashed the Electoral Bond Scheme that was started by the Central Government.

It allowed anonymous funding to political parties. The court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to stop issuing Electoral Bonds with immediate effect.

According to civil society activists, 41 companies facing probe by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, and the I-T Department gave ₹Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds, and ₹1,698 crore of it was donated after raids by these agencies, reports Mint.

"Future Gaming gave ₹60 crore to the BJP within three months of I-T and ED raids on 12 November 2023, and 1 December 2021, respectively," Mint reported citing senior advocate Prashant Bhushan.

Besides, Aurobindo Pharma gave ₹5 crore to the BJP within three months of the ED raid on 10 November 2022.

Following the revelations, opposition parties dubbed the electoral bonds as "legalised corruption" while the BJP said that cancelling electoral bonds could lead to the return of black money in politics.