Congress pushes for FM’s ouster over electoral bond FIR
The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after a case was registered against her in connection with the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme.
The opposition party accused Sitharaman of “undermining democracy” and called for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the controversial scheme through a special investigation team (SIT). The case was filed following a court order in Bengaluru, based on a complaint lodged by Adarsh R Iyer, co-president of the ‘Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath’ (JSP).
The complaint alleged that Sitharaman, along with Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials and BJP leaders, orchestrated an extortion racket under the guise of electoral bonds, benefiting to the tune of over Rs 8,000 crore. The FIR has been lodged against Sitharaman, BJP’s Karnataka chief BY Vijayendra and state party leader Nalin Kumar Kateel, among others, under charges of extortion (Section 384), criminal conspiracy (120B) and common intention (34) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Addressing the media, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Abhishek Singhvi condemned the alleged involvement of the Finance Minister. Ramesh said the Finance Minister should immediately resign on moral grounds. The Congress also reiterated its call for an investigation into the electoral bonds scheme, which was struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. “The Finance Minister cannot do this on her own. We know who is number 1 and number 2 and this was done on whose directions,” Singhvi said.
