In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “The Supreme Court has once again come to protect Indian democracy from the devious machinations of this regime. It was laughable for the SBI to seek an extension on a simple 1 day job. The fact is that the government is scared of all their skeletons tumbling out of the closet. This mega corruption scandal, as certified by the Supreme Court, will expose the unholy nexus between the BJP and its corrupt corporate masters.”
The post was also shared by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
Also Read: Electoral bonds: SC dismisses SBI’s plea for extension, seeks details by tomorrow
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also took a jibe at the SBI and BJP. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said, “After SBI asked for four and a half months to publish electoral bonds, it became clear that the Modi government is making every possible effort to cover up its dark deeds. With today’s decision of the Honorable Supreme Court, the country will soon know the list of those who donated to BJP through electoral bonds.”
“This is the first step in exposing the corruption, scams and transactions of Modi government,” he further stated.
He called the Supreme Court’s decision “a victory for transparency, accountability, and level playing field in democracy.”
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also extended the support to the judgment. “SBI should have never filed an application asking for an extension in time. I am glad that the Supreme Court has thrown their application and asked them to make full disclosure by tomorrow. The people of India have the right to know who purchased the electoral bond, who are the beneficiaries and whether any quid pro quo has been given by the govt to anyone who contributed to them… It raises a lot of questions when an election commissioner whose term is till 2027 resigns just before the biggest event (Lok Sabha elections) he is going to oversee… The DMK-led INDIA alliance will win all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry,” ANI quoted him as saying.
SC’s take on SBI extension plea
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the State Bank of India’s plea seeking extension till June 30 to furnish details regarding electoral bonds. The SC has asked SBI to provide details by March 12.
The SBI has been asked to disclose information till the ‘business hours’ of March 12, while the Election Commission of India (ECI) has been asked to upload it on its website by 5 pm, March 15.
The SBI has been asked to submit details of the bonds, including the name, date and denominations. Alongside, it will also reveal details of the bonds which were redeemed by the political parties, including the date of encashment and denominations.
As per the SC’s February 15 judgment, the SBI is not required to match these two critical details.
Harish Salve, appearing for the SBI, said that while SBI could simply comply with the February 15 judgment by disclosing available information, it needs more time to match the information of donor details with the political parties.
“What you are saying is that there are two different information silos and rematching them would require significant effort, ” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said. “But if you see the directions we issued, we did not ask you do this matching exercise. We have simply directed plain disclosure,” he said.
The CJI asked the SBI what progress it made on matching in the last 26 days. “There should be a degree of candour from SBI. They should tell us the extent of work done already,” the CJI observed.
Salve said that in a hurry to give details, there might be some mismatches, the SBI might make mistakes. “That might create havoc, we might be sued,” Salve said.
The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, said that SBI being the “Number 1” bank in India, is expected to handle the task.
“The SC has directed for disclosure of KYC details, amount of bond. The SC has also directed for disclosure on donations received by political parties. If a bridge does not need to established between the two, we can disclose info in 3 weeks,” Salve told the SC during the hearing.
