Following SBI's disclosure, a pattern suggests enforcement agency raids may have spurred political donations through electoral bonds, with instances of corporate entities making substantial contributions shortly after facing regulatory actions. List in Link/QR.
Coimbatore: The recent release of donor and recipient lists of political donations through electoral bonds by the State Bank of India (SBI) has unveiled a notable pattern, indicating a possible correlation between enforcement agency raids and subsequent political donations. The detailed data showcases several corporate entities engaging in significant electoral bond purchases closely following regulatory scrutiny or enforcement actions.
BJP received ₹6061 crores as funds through electoral bonds which is 47.46% of total donations received by all parties as per the Electoral bonds data received from SBI. DMK received ₹638 crores through electoral bonds comprising 5% of the total donations. Here is the summary of the amount received by the political parties and the top donors:
Key instances identified from the disclosed data include:
- Future Gaming purchased electoral bonds worth several crores on April 7, 2022, just five days following an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on April 2, 2022.
Serum Institute donated ₹50 crores via electoral bonds on August 1,2 and 17, 2022. They were the sole manufacturers of Covishield vaccine in India from 2021-22 onwards.
- Aurobindo Pharma acquired electoral bonds on November 15, 2022, shortly after the arrest of its Managing Director on November 10, 2022, raising eyebrows over the timing of the donation.
- Shirdi Sai Electricals electoral bond transaction on January 11, 2024, came a few weeks after an Income Tax (IT) raid on December 20, 2023.
- Torrent Power bought electoral bonds on January 10, 2024, and was subsequently awarded a Rs. 1540 crores tender from PM Kusum on March 7, 2024.
- Dr. Reddy's and Kalapataru Projects also showed a similar pattern, with electoral bond purchases following close on the heels of IT raids.
- Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd. made substantial electoral bond purchases on April 11, 2023, ahead of winning the massive Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel Project tender worth Rs. 14,400 crore in May 2023.
- Avon Cycles, Micro Labs, Hero Motocorp, APCO Infra, and Yashoda Hospitals are among others who participated in electoral bond purchases subsequent to facing regulatory or enforcement actions.
Hetero Drugs and Hetero Labs donated ₹60 crore via Electoral Bonds to Political Parties. In 2021, There was an IT raid on Hetero Drugs & Hetero Labs offices at Sanath Nagar, IT department said 550 cr unaccounted income was detected.
RP Sanjiv Goenka Group companies (Haldia Energy, Dhariwal, PCBL & RPSG Ventures) donated ₹540 Crore to political parties. Making RPSV group the third largest donor.
Wonder Cements donated using electoral bonds on 6th November 2023 and opened a production facility in Gujarat in January 06, 2024
This discernible pattern raises significant concerns about the motivations behind these contributions and their potential influence on political and regulatory decisions. The temporal proximity between enforcement actions and political donations through electoral bonds has ignited a debate on the need for greater transparency and regulation in political funding mechanisms.
All this was made possible after the Supreme Court of India made the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional and asked SBI to furnish the data before March 13. SBI after trying to divert the issue and prolong dates was again ordered by the SC to furnish the data with bond numbers.
Despite the Supreme Court ordering SBI to release the data with the bond numbers it didn't do so yesterday and it has been ordered by the Supreme Court today to furnish with the bond numbers linking donations to recipients. Once it's furnished, it will be more clear and apparent which party has benefited from these raids even though many people can point to the direction of these funds after raids because these are central agencies and tenders.
As the discussion unfolds, the implications of these findings on the integrity of political donations and the potential for reform in electoral bond policies remain central to ensuring a transparent and accountable political financing framework.