
(Image source from: x.com/FinMinIndia)
A court in Bengaluru has ordered the filing of a police complaint against India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The complaint alleges that she and others were involved in an extortion scheme under the guise of the now-cancelled electoral bonds program. The complaint also names other senior BJP leaders. It claims that companies were pressured to buy electoral bonds worth thousands of crores, which were then cashed by BJP leaders. The complaint alleges that the electoral bonds scheme allowed the accumulation of illegal funds for political purposes, with Ms. Sitharaman and other BJP leaders involved. The BJP has defended Ms. Sitharaman, stating that the charges are politically motivated and that the electoral bonds issue is a policy matter, not a criminal one.
Mr. Siddaramaiah is often unwilling to cooperate with investigative agencies, according to a BJP spokesperson. When he was the Chief Minister of Karnataka, there were 106 cases against Congress leaders, and 64 of them were specifically against Mr. Siddaramaiah. Facing pressure due to an investigation into the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case, Mr. Siddaramaiah questioned why senior leaders like Ms. Sitharaman and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who are also under corruption probes, are not being asked to resign. He said that if he is expected to step down, the same standards should apply to Ms. Sitharaman and other BJP leaders facing investigations. The Lokayukta police have filed an FIR against Mr. Siddaramaiah, his wife, and other family members over the alleged illegal allocation of MUDA sites.