‘Happening on instigation of Siddaramaiah govt’: Shettar on chargs against Nirmala Sitharaman

HUBBALLI: After the Bengaluru court ordered to file an FIR against Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others for allegedly extorting money through electoral bonds, BJP MP Jagadish Shettar on Monday said it is happening at the “instigation” of the Siddaramaiah government.

He wondered that the aggrieved party has not filed any complaint and only a third party has filed a complaint in their name. Shettar said, “The FIR has already been filed as per the direction of the judiciary. Before filing the FIR, the police officers concerned have to examine whether prima facie there is a case or not…He (the complainant) alleged so many things in the complaint…There is no complaint filed by the aggrieved party.”

“Only a third party in their name has filed a complaint, and an FIR has been filed. It is happening because of the Siddaramaiah government’s instigation. I think this is not a proper procedure”, Jagdish Shettar added.

#WATCH | Hubbali, Karnataka | On Bengaluru court allows FIR against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over electoral bonds issue, BJP MP Jagadish Shettar says, “…The FIR has already been filed as per the direction of the judiciary. Before filing the FIR, the concerned… pic.twitter.com/vU9wKu6kNd

— ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2024

On Sunday, Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge slammed Nirmala Sitharaman over the electoral bonds and accused her of being the ‘architect’ of the bill.

Priyank Kharge said, “The Supreme Court has already told that the electoral bonds are illegal and unconstitutional. The same has been filed here in Karnataka. There are instances where they have forced companies into quid pro quo and the architect of all this is the finance minister and that’s what the complaint has said. The court has upheld the complaint. Let the investigation happen, What are they so scared of?”

Meanwhile, Congress MP and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi came out heavily against the Bharatiya Janata Party over the FIR filed against Nirmala Sitharaman. Singhvi said that the BJP’s plan had been “sinister” and that there was a pattern on how the electoral bond had helped a few firms ease their case with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or get out of custody. He also demanded the resignation of Sitharaman.

“BJP’s plan had been sinister, including the Finance Minister, especially since this FIR has unmasked the true nature of the BJP…The pattern had been that when was the electoral bond taken and how much amount was taken, and then how many times ED knocked on their doors before buying the bonds and after the electoral bond was brought, then either their cases against them were slowed or they were released from custody…One firm also bought 500 crore worth of electoral bonds as well”, he said. (ANI)