BENGALURU/MYSURU: Karnataka Police Saturday filed an FIR towards Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP president J P Nadda and members of the saffron occasion’s state unit following allegations of ‘extorting cash’ by the now scrapped electoral bonds scheme.
The motion follows a directive from the forty second extra chief metropolitan Justice of the Peace courtroom (dealing completely with legal instances associated to elected representatives) after a grievance was filed by one Adarsh R Iyer, who’s co-president of Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath.
BJP dismissed the FIR, stating it was being orchestrated by the Congress govt to divert consideration from the Muda rip-off involving Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. Nevertheless, Siddaramaiah sought to show the tables on BJP by demanding the FM’s resignation.
Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and former state chief Nalin Kumar Kateel together with ED have been made co-accused within the FIR.
The grievance alleges company entities had been coerced into buying electoral bonds (EBs), which had been then encashed by BJP netas for political functions. It claims over Rs 8,000 crore was illegally collected by EBs. The police have charged Nirmala, Nadda and others below IPC sections 384 (extortion), 120B (legal conspiracy) and 34 (acts accomplished by a number of people with widespread intent).
The grievance accuses Nirmala, ED and BJP members of misusing their authority by conducting raids, seizures and arrests focusing on company entities, finally leading to coerced purchases of EBs. The FIR alleges aluminium and copper corporations of Sterlite and Vedanta teams had been pressured to purchase EBs value Rs 230 crore between April 2019 and Nov 2023. This aside, raids on Aurobindo Pharma Group led to buy of EBs totalling Rs 49.5 crore between July 2022 and Nov 2023, the FIR alleges.
The complainant additionally alleged the accused plotted the arrest of then CM Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi liquor rip-off on claims made by a Aurobindo Pharma director, who turned approver and implicated him.
Reacting to the FIR, Siddaramaiah stated: “When will they begin protesting towards Sitharaman and demand her resignation over this alleged rip-off? If there’s an neutral investigation into this case, PM Narendra Modi may even must resign. Let (Union minister) H D Kumaraswamy, who’s on bail, additionally resign.”
Kumaraswamy retorted, “The CM asking for my and Nirmala Sitharaman’s resignation? Sure, the courtroom requested for an FIR, however did the electoral bond cash go to her private account prefer it was in his case? Why ought to she resign and why ought to I resign?”
