India

‘Extortion and Criminal Conspiracy’: FIR filed against Nirmala Sitharaman, ED officials in electoral bond case

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi with country's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. [File Photo]

The Bengaluru police have filed an FIR against Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman, unnamed Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, and BJP office-bearers at both state and national levels for their alleged involvement in extortion and criminal conspiracy related to the now-scrapped electoral bond scheme.

The FIR was registered under sections 384 (extortion) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, following the order of a special court in the city.

The complainant, Adarsh R Iyer, co-president of ‘Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath’, also named Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and party leader Nalin Kumar Kateel, among others. The complaint claims that corporations such as Sterlite and Vedanta were raided multiple times by the ED, forcing them to buy electoral bonds worth Rs230.15 crore in 2019, 2022, and 2023 to avoid further probes.

Iyer’s complaint references the Supreme Court’s observations on electoral bonds and provides an analysis linking ED actions to the purchase of bonds by private firms.

Reacting to the case, Karnataka CM Siddaramiah, who is facing calls for resignation over an FIR related to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, said, “According to BJP’s argument, Nirmala Sitharaman should resign now, right?” In response, JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy asked, “Why should she resign? Did the electoral bond funds go into Sitharaman’s personal account or did she misuse power for personal gain like you?”

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