A special court in Bengaluru has directed local police to file an FIR against union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. This is in connection with allegations of extortion linked to the now-scrapped electoral bond scheme.
The complainant, Adarsh Iyer from Janaadhikara Sangharsha Sanghatane (JSS), has alleged that Sitharaman and her department orchestrated extortion through electoral bonds. The Special Court for People’s Representatives, after reviewing the case, ordered the Tilak Nagar police station to register an FIR.
“Our allegation is that Nirmala Sitharaman is misusing her position as finance minister to benefit her party, which is ruling at the Centre. That is where extortion comes into the picture,” Iyer told News18.
He described the electoral bond scheme as a scam that the entire nation was exposed to, emphasising that their complaints and evidence demonstrate a clear-cut case of extortion and corruption by the union minister and her BJP colleagues in Karnataka as well.
Iyer further claimed that data uploaded by the State Bank of India (SBI) clearly shows how the extortion took place. “We have filed 15 to 16 complaints at various police stations, but right now we are following up on only one—the one where the court has directed that an FIR be filed at Tilak Nagar Police Station against Nirmala Sitharaman,” Iyer told News18.
The Supreme Court declared electoral bonds unconstitutional in February 2024. The scheme allegedly enabled political parties to receive large sums of money without disclosing the identity of donors, raising concerns about corporate influence in politics.
The complaint, originally submitted by JSP in April 2024 at the 42nd ACMM Court in Bengaluru, named several prominent politicians and officials, including Sitharaman. Among others named are BJP national president JP Nadda, former BJP Karnataka president Nalin Kumar Kateel, BY Vijayendra, and representatives from the ED. The complaint alleges that they conspired to extort funds through electoral bonds by leveraging raids conducted by them.
Defending his colleague Sitharaman, union minister HD Kumaraswamy countered Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah’s demand that she should resign. The CM himself has been facing demands to step down after a trial court ordered filing of charges in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, land scam.
“Why should she resign if the electoral bond funds didn’t go into her personal account? They’ve asked for an FIR to be filed, but that doesn’t mean she is guilty,” Kumaraswamy said.
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