Black money is driving the nation; everyone will regret criticizing the Electoral Bond plan, according to Prime Minister Modi

Black money is driving the nation; everyone will regret criticizing the Electoral Bond plan, according to Prime Minister Modi

The PM confronts the Opposition, accusing it of disseminating false information on electoral bonds and praising the ED for making a substantial contribution to the fight against corruption. He also claims that the government has amended the legislation pertaining to the appointment of Election Commissioners.  

On April 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that, upon honest thought, "everyone will regret it" since the Supreme Court's decision to reject the electoral bonds plan had forced the nation into using illicit money in elections.

In an interview with news agency ANI, Mr. Modi provided his first in-depth analysis of the electoral bond system after its cancellation. He said that the plan should be seen as a success story since it had revealed the donors to political parties.

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He said that there was a great deal of room for improvement in the plan. "In our nation, there has long been talk about the hazardous game that is present in elections due to the influence of dark money. I wanted us to attempt something. How can we have transparent elections free from this illicit money? I had a clear idea in my head. We were trying to find a path. "We discovered a minor method; we never asserted that this was the sole method," he remarked.

It is debatable if the events of the process were good or harmful, but I never claim that decision-making is flawless. We become better after talking about it. This also has a great deal of room for improvement. However, we have entirely shifted the nation's financial system to accept illicit money, thus I predict that everyone will regret it. Everyone will regret it when they think it through honestly, he added.

Of the 3,000 corporations that made contributions under the program, he claimed 26 were under investigation by organizations including the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He took aim at the Opposition, accusing it of disseminating false information about electoral bonds. Of the 26 corporations he listed, 16 purchased electoral bonds when they came under pressure, according to him. "Of these sixteen companies, thirty-seven percent went to the BJP and sixty-three percent went to anti-BJP parties," he said.

In addition, he refuted claims made by the opposition that there were unfair playing conditions, asserting that previous legislation governing the institutions existed and that the opposition was only looking for a pretext to justify their probable loss. Speaking about how the ED has seized more cash in the previous ten years than it has in the past, Mr. Modi emphasized that just 3% of charges it has brought were against those engaged in politics, a statistic that the opposition said the Modi administration was using to attack them. What is the number of Opposition leaders incarcerated? Nobody informs me. And is he the same leader of the opposition who oversaw their last government? The dread of sin is known as paap ka dar hai. What is the dread of the honest person? When I was Chief Minister, they had my Home Minister imprisoned," he continued.

He praised the ED and said that the Central agency has made a major contribution to combating corruption since he took over at the Center in 2014.

He said that corruption had brought to the nation's destruction and that it needed to be vigorously opposed. "We must use all of our might to combat corruption. And I really believe this," he said.

In reference to the Election Commission, he said that a statute "improving" the procedure for selecting Election Commissioners by a three-person committee included the Leader of the Opposition was approved under his administration. On the committee, we at least have representatives from the opposition. Previously, members of the "family" held positions as Election Commissioners and subsequently became Ministers and Rajya Sabha seats. At that level, we [BJP] can't compete," he said.

He also questioned the Congress's "compulsion" to form an alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the governing party in Tamil Nadu, whose leaders had made offensive comments about Sanatana Dharma, during a lengthy 78-minute interview. "This is a question for the Congress, the same party that Mahatma Gandhi once belonged to and which Indira Gandhi openly displayed a Rudraksha Maala around her neck. He posed the question, "What is the Congress's compulsion to sit with people who are spewing such venom against Sanatana?"

He went on to say that the BJP and the Jan Sangh, the party's former incarnation, have served Tamil Nadu for five generations. "People who were dissatisfied with the Congress shifted to regional parties, but now they are dissatisfied with these parties as well. They viewed the Delhi BJP government's model in this disillusioned climate. They observed other Indian States using the BJP government as a model. Tamils across rushed to their houses and said, "This is happening in the State where we live." People began to compare as a result, he added.