Congress creates uproar in Lok Sabha over electoral bonds issue, walks out of proceedings
A ruckus then broke out as Congress leaders stormed the Well of the House chanting slogans. A sharp exchange of words was also witnessed between Congress' leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary and Om Birla.
Congress on Thursday raised the issue of electoral bonds in Parliament, claiming the scheme resulted in money laundering and made corruption 'official'.
Raising the issue during the question hour in Lok Sabha, Congress leader Manish Tewari alleged that the government went ahead with the scheme despite reservations by the Reserve Bank of India.
"I want to draw the attention of the House towards electoral bonds. RTI in 2018 revealed that government overruled Reserve Bank of India on electoral bonds. Despite warnings by the Election Commission and the RBI, the government issued electoral bonds. This is a cover-up of corruption by the government," senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said.
"Before 2017, there was a basic structure in this country. There was control over the interference of rich people in the country. There is no clarity on donor and their identity. The electoral bond scheme was limited to elections. The irony is on April 11, 2018, PMO had ordered to issue illegal electoral bonds," Tewari alleged before Speaker Om Birla interrupted him and asked him to refrain from mentioning the PMO and called out the next member to speak in the House.
A ruckus then broke out as Congress leaders stormed the Well of the House chanting slogans. A sharp exchange of words was also witnessed between Congress' leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary and Om Birla.
Birla kept appealing for order, reminding the protesting leaders to maintain dignity and discipline in the House. The leaders later walked out of the proceedings.
Earlier in the day, the party gave an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha over "lack of transparency in the entire scheme of electoral bonds".
Yesterday, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had termed the scheme as a 'political bribery scheme' that tarnished the image of the country.
The party is referring to the recent reports in HuffPost, suggesting that the government had ignored warnings by RBI and the Election Commission on the scheme when it was being proposed in 2017.
Under the electoral bonds scheme, complete anonymity is offered to those making donations to a political party. A person can now anonymously buy a bond and deposit it with the party of their choice.