How the ‘corruption’ narrative prevents meaningful dialogue on reforming political funding in India

[ad_1] Ten years ago, the current Bharatiya Janata Party-led government came to power in the wake of widespread corruption allegations against the previous government, the anti-corruption movement led by activist Anna Hazare and the demand to appoint a Lokpal –...

Electoral bonds: Black money for political parties remains the elephant in the room

[ad_1] Following the battle in the Supreme Court to get the State Bank of India to reveal data about electoral bonds in a manner that allowed donors to be matched with the political parties that received them, it is clear...

Aditya Birla group donated Rs 100 crore to BJP two months before government’s Vodafone Idea bailout

[ad_1] It is India’s third-largest telecom operator behind Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. But Vodafone Idea, or Vi, which is jointly owned by the British firm Vodafone Plc and the Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla group, has been in troubled waters...

Bharti group’s Rs 150 crore bond donation to BJP coincided with Modi government’s telecom U-turn

[ad_1] In 2012, when the Supreme Court cancelled 122 telecom licences allotted by the Congress-led government, ordering that telecom spectrum be auctioned instead, media reports hailed the verdict as “a decisive blow against corruption”. The court order in what was...

Of Rs 945 crore bonds donated by drug firms, most went to parties ruling states with pharma units

[ad_1] Micro Labs Limited is best known as the maker of Dolo-650, the paracetamol tablet that became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic.The pharmaceutical company is headquartered in Karnataka. But the largest amount it donated through electoral bonds – Rs 7...

After Rs 170 crore to BJP, real estate firm DLF got ‘clean chit’ in Vadra deal from Haryana

[ad_1] In September 2018, the Haryana police filed a case against businessman Robert Vadra and real estate conglomerate DLF Group, among others, alleging corruption and fraud in land deals in Gurugram.The land deals involving Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress leader...

The curious link between a Hyderabad firm’s electoral bonds to BJP and the Delhi liquor policy case

[ad_1] Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 15 after allegations that she was involved in money laundering in the Delhi excise policy.Delhi...

Reliance-linked firm gave Rs 375 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds

[ad_1] A little-known firm linked to the Reliance Group, Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, donated at least Rs 375 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party through electoral bonds, fresh data released by the Election Commission on March 21 has revealed....