The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has demanded a probe into the “electoral bonds scam” by a special investigation team of retired administrators, monitored by the Supreme Court.
Linking the electoral bonds with debt relief and statutory minimum support price for all crops, the SKM said in a statement here on April 8 that decisions of the Centre such as the three farm laws, four labour codes and privatisation of public undertakings were taken to please the corporate donors.
The SKM appealed to farmers to campaign for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the “scam” and demanded prosecution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cabinet Members and BJP leadership on the matter. “Though 1,00,474 farmers and 3,12,214 daily wage workers — a total of 4,12,688 persons — committed suicide during 2014-2022, the Modi government did not provide debt relief of a single rupee to farmers and farm worker households despite the promise the BJP made in the 2014 election manifesto. The SKM appeals to the farmers and the people in general to give a befitting reply thus, punishing the BJP for the double standard of the Prime Minister towards the acute agrarian crisis,” the SKM statement added.
Also Read: Electoral bonds data | 55 firms’ purchase exceeded 7.5% cap in 2022-24, lion’s share went to BJP
Had the Supreme Court not forced the SBI to release the poll bond data in public, the fact that BJP had taken ₹55 crore from Sarath Chandra Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma, the main accused in the Delhi liquor case, would not have come to the light during this election period, the SKM said. “The ED, CBI and other investigation agencies have been used to extort money from those corporate companies that never gave funds to the BJP in the past. The main plank of the election campaign of the BJP is ‘corruption-free governance’, the ‘Prime Minister is above corruption’, and the ‘Opposition is corrupt’. The electoral bond scam has exposed the BJP as the most corrupt political party and the main beneficiary of the electoral bond scam,” the SKM said.
“The Prime Minister could not investigate his own administration. Hence, the SKM demands a special investigation team with retired administrators, and that the investigation be monitored by the Supreme Court,” the statement said.
