Bengaluru police on Saturday registered a case against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, and several BJP leaders concerning a complaint related to the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme.
The FIR was filed under sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) following orders from a special court in the city, PTI reported.
The complaint, submitted by Adarsh R. Iyer, Co-President of ‘Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath’ (JSP), names Karnataka BJP chief B.Y. Vijayendra, the son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, and party leader Nalinkumar Kateel among others.
Iyer alleged that the accused committed extortion disguised as electoral bonds, benefiting by over ₹8,000 crore. He further claimed that Sitharaman, with clandestine aid from ED officials, facilitated the extortion for the benefit of various parties at both state and national levels.
“The entire extortion racket under the garb of electoral bonds has been orchestrated hand in glove with officials of BJP at various levels,” the complaint stated.
This development comes weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, following the Supreme Court’s February ruling that struck down the Narendra Modi government’s 2018 electoral bonds scheme, declaring it “unconstitutional, arbitrary and violative of Article 14.”
The five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, emphasized that voters need access to funding information to exercise their voting rights effectively. The court ruled that changes made to implement the scheme were unconstitutional and violated citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, expression, and information, rejecting the Centre’s argument that it was designed to enhance transparency and reduce black money in political funding.