An FIR was registered on Saturday against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and several others in connection with a complaint linked to the now-defunct electoral bonds scheme, following a court directive.
The case, lodged under sections 384 (extortion), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), names Sitharaman, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office-bearers at the state and national levels, according to police sources.
The complaint, filed by Adarsh R Iyer, Co-President of the ‘Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath’ (JSP), alleges that the accused were involved in an "extortion racket" disguised as the electoral bonds scheme. Iyer claimed that the accused "benefitted to the tune of ₹8,000 crore and more" through the scheme.
In the complaint, Iyer alleged that Sitharaman, with covert assistance from ED officials, "facilitated the extortion of thousands of crores of rupees for the benefit of others at the state and national levels."
He further accused BJP officials of orchestrating the scheme "hand in glove" with financial authorities.
The electoral bonds scheme, which allowed political donations through anonymous banking instruments, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
The apex court ruled that the scheme violated citizens' rights to information and freedom of speech, striking it down in February.
Responding to the case, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah drew a parallel between the FIR against Sitharaman and a case against himself involving land allotments by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which the BJP has been using to demand his resignation.
"By BJP leaders’ logic, shouldn't Nirmala Sitharaman resign now?" he asked.
JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy quickly rejected Siddaramaiah's comparison, questioning why Sitharaman should resign when she "has not personally benefitted" from the scheme.
"Has the money gone into Nirmala Sitharaman's personal account? Has she misused her power for personal gain like you (Siddaramaiah)?" Kumaraswamy asked.
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka also criticised the Congress for drawing parallels between the two cases.
“The electoral bond issue has been settled by the Supreme Court, and our leadership will respond in accordance with the law. There is no comparison between this and the MUDA case," Ashoka said.
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