The ruling BJP had done 'Chanda ka Dhanda', you gave out contracts based on donation, made arrests, and threatened people.......
Digital desk: Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha in an interview with NDTV said that although the BJP exploited the electoral bonds scheme to compel and intimidate opposition parties, the parties earned funds through it. As he prepared for the Lok Sabha contest in Asansol, West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress MP was in Patna when NDTV caught up with him.
In response to a query regarding the Trinamool Congress's position as the second-ranked party among those that benefited from donations made using the now-scrapped system, Mr. Sinha said, "Has the Trinamool Congress or any other opposition party resorted to extortion or blackmail? Have they applied pressure that if you do not donate, ED, CBI, and Income Tax will go after you? Have those who donated through electoral bonds received contracts worth thousands of crores?"
Mr. Sinha said it was the BJP that introduced the electoral bond scheme for political funding. "You cleared the way, what's the problem if others jumped in? They did not misuse the system hatch a conspiracy or pull off a fraud. They did not commit atrocities or threaten people with arrest," he said.
Mr. Sinha said, "The ruling BJP had done 'Chanda ka Dhanda', you gave out contracts based on donation, made arrests, and threatened people."
Mr. Sinha further added, "Whether it is the Trinamool Congress or the Samajwadi Party or Congress, they received money under the system, but they did not misuse it; they did not try to turn it into fear. You cannot draw a comparison between us and the ruling party."
When asked if the disclosure of electoral bonds is now a polling issue, Mr. Sinha agreed. He also criticized the Indian Election Commission's handling of issues raised by electronic voting machines. "People believe that the Election Commission has not addressed the issue of electronic voting machines. They trivialized the situation by using shayari. Transparency and truth are important. Good job must be done and shown to be done, both of which are equally vital," he said.
After serving in the BJP, Mr. Sinha left the party in 2019 to join the Congress, and then in 2022, he joined the Trinamool. In a by-election that year, he was elected to the Asansol parliamentary constituency.
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