Imphal, Mar 7 (Reporter) The Congress party on Thursday asked “Why is the SBI, which has lakhs of employees, taking months to furnish information regarding the beneficiaries of electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India. A Five Judge bench of the Supreme Court in a judgment struck down the Electoral Bonds’ Scheme, which was introduced by BJP Government at the centre in 2017. Adjudicating a case the Supreme Court directed the SBI to submit details of the Electoral Bonds purchased between April 12, 2019 and till date to the Election Commission of India, by March 6, 2024. Senior Spokesperson & AICC Member Ningombam Bupenda Meitei at a press conference here said the ruling BJP, being the primary beneficiary of the electoral bond scheme, faced discomfort after the Supreme Court’s decision. Political parties collectively received over Rs 12,000 crore since the electoral bond scheme was introduced in 2017; and, out of the total of Rs 12,000 crore, the BJP alone received Rs 6566 crore which constituting 55 percent of the entire electoral bonds, Congress leaders said. On March, 4 last, the SBI filed an application to the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30, 2024, to furnish the information regarding electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India. The Association for Democratic Reforms has filed a contempt petition against the State Bank of India for non-compliance with the Supreme Court to disclose details of electoral bonds on Thursday it was added. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP is concerned about the potential exposure of its ties with select corporates once the information about donors becomes public. Therefore, the Modi government appears to have pressured the SBI not to share the information. Hence, the SBI filed an application before the Supreme Court, seeking an extension until June 30, 2024, which is after the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, it was added. This deliberate delay is questionable, as the country’s largest and fully computerized bank should not need months to provide information about electoral bonds, as it can be done within a few minutes or in a day. This delay is an indication that the SBI is being used to conceal the BJP’s financial irregularities, financial scams, and the source of black money, the Congress leader charged. Bhupenda said the Election Commission of India, on May 26, 2017, wrote to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, that the Amendments in the Finance Act 2017, will have a serious impact on the transparency aspect of political finance/ funding of political parties and would increase use of black money for political funding through shell companies. He said the electoral bond is a misnomer, which has nothing to do with funding for elections, as it has been used to enrich the party in power, particularly the BJP, by disproportionately providing an uneven level playing field among the political parties. Corporate donations to political parties were completely banned by the introduction of Section 293A into the Companies Act, 1956, by way of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1969. But, Electoral Bonds’ Scheme (EBS) has eliminated all safeguards without any constitutionally valid justification by allowing loss making companies to funnel money to political parties without any caps or allowing company boards to make decisions about political donations in secrecy or unrestricted corporate financing of political parties, and these had endangered the free and fair elections in the country, Bhupenda said...////...