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Podcast: Parley by The Hindu
Episode: Did the electoral bonds scheme enable extortion? | The Hindu parley podcast
Description: Many companies that faced regulatory action from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Income Tax (IT) Department donated electoral bonds worth crores of rupees to ruling parties via the electoral bonds route, show data submitted by the State Bank of India (SBI) to the Election Commission of India (ECI). Some companies which got huge government contracts purchased bonds for large amounts. Some new companies, which were incorporated during the COVID-19 pandemic, purchased bonds worth crores of rupees just months after starting out. Was the electoral bonds scheme used as an extortion tool? Here we discuss this question. ...