Protests Outside Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s House Over Electoral Bond Scam
The youth wing of the Congress party held a protest outside the residence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday. They were protesting over the issue of the ‘electoral bond scam.’
Karnataka Law Minister’s Statement
Karnataka Law Minister H K Patil asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond to the alleged electoral bond case against Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others. Patil called the electoral bond case a ‘scandal’ as mentioned by the Supreme Court. He said, “I would like the Prime Minister to react to this Rs 8000 crores scandal which has already surfaced in Karnataka. I am talking about the electoral bonds. It is a scandal which has also been uttered by the Supreme Court.”
High Court’s Interim Stay
Earlier, the Karnataka High Court ordered an interim stay till October 22, 2024, on an FIR filed against Sitharaman in a case related to alleged extortion of money through electoral bonds. The petition was filed by former state BJP President Naleen Kumar Kateel, who is co-accused in the case. The High Court stated, “Permitting investigation even prima facie, till the statement of objection are filed by respondent, will be abuse of process of law. In that light, I deem it appropriate to interdict further investigation in the matter till the next date of hearing.”
FIR Filed
On Friday, a Bengaluru court ordered the filing of an FIR against Nirmala Sitharaman and others for allegedly extorting money through electoral bonds. This came after a petition by Adarsh Iyer of Janadhikar Sangharsh Parishad (JSP) to the Special Court of People’s Representatives. The court directed the Tilak Nagar police station in Bengaluru to register an FIR for the crime of extortion through electoral bonds against the Minister.
Doubts Revealed
Nirmala Sitharaman -: Nirmala Sitharaman is the Finance Minister of India. She is responsible for managing the country’s money and economy.
Electoral Bond Scam -: An electoral bond scam is when there is a problem or cheating related to electoral bonds, which are used to donate money to political parties in India.
Congress party -: The Congress party is one of the major political parties in India. It has a youth wing, which is a group of young members who support the party.
Union Finance Minister -: The Union Finance Minister is the person in charge of the financial matters of the whole country. Right now, it is Nirmala Sitharaman.
Karnataka Law Minister -: The Karnataka Law Minister is a person who looks after legal matters in the state of Karnataka. Currently, it is H K Patil.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi -: Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India. He is the head of the government and makes important decisions for the country.
Rs 8000 crore -: Rs 8000 crore is a very large amount of money. One crore is equal to 10 million, so 8000 crore is 80 billion rupees.
Karnataka High Court -: The Karnataka High Court is a big court in the state of Karnataka. It makes important legal decisions for the state.
Interim stay -: An interim stay is a temporary order by a court to stop something from happening until a final decision is made.
FIR -: FIR stands for First Information Report. It is a document prepared by the police when they receive information about a crime.
BJP -: BJP stands for Bharatiya Janata Party. It is one of the major political parties in India.
Naleen Kumar Kateel -: Naleen Kumar Kateel is a politician from the BJP. He was the former state president of the party in Karnataka.