"Bonds were brought in to ensure greater transparency in electoral funding," Piyush Goyal said.
Union minister Piyush Goyal told NDTV today that the electoral bonds issue does not figure among the people's concerns in the general election at all. "Nobody is asking," he told NDTV when asked about the massive Supreme Court verdict banning the bonds ahead of the general election in which the BJP is hoping for a third straight term in power. The Opposition, he added, were upset about the bonds because it interfered with their personal gains that came from skimming off party funds.
The Supreme Court, which scrapped the Electoral Bond Scheme on February 16, had objected to undisclosed funding through corporate donations, saying the voters had a right to know who were funding the political parties. This, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said, was because political contributors "get access", which leads to policy making. "Financial supports to political parties can lead to quid pro quo arrangement," said the bench led by Chief Justice Chandrachud.
"Bonds were brought in to ensure greater transparency in electoral funding," Mr Goyal told NDTV in an exclusive interview. "I think the Congress is so used to black money in funding that they were very disconcerted or uncomfortable because we were ensuring that everybody gives money through a bank account, a formal system and then the money goes into the Congress bank account," he added.
"My feeling is that many of these Opposition parties do not desire to get formal funding. They want to get cash funding. A lot of it they may be skimming off. God knows what they are doing. whether they are using it for the party or for electoral gains," he said.
The BJP is the biggest overall recipient (Rs 6,986.5 crore) of electoral bonds since they were introduced in 2018. The Trinamool Congress was the second (Rs 1,397 crore) followed by the Congress (Rs 1,334 crore), BRS (Rs 1,322 crore) and Odisha's ruling party BJD at ₹ 944.5. The DMK was the sixth biggest recipient.
Mr Goyal, who is contesting from Mumbai North, also said in Maharashtra, the public sympathy will not be with Uddhav Thackeray or Sharad Pawar. Mr Thackeray, he said, has not only betrayed the ideals of Bal Thackeray by joining hands with the Congress but also the BJP and broke their alliance.
"One usually has sympathy for a person who has been wronged. If anyone has been wronged in Maharashtra, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If anyone has been wronged by the actions of Uddhav Thackeray, it is Devendra Fadnavis… In front of Uddhav Thackeray on stage, our leaders have said Devendra Fadnavis will be the Chief Minister. There will be sympathy for PM Modi, Fadnavis and the BJP who trusted Uddhav Thackeray," he added.