Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Following the Supreme Courts dismissal of petitions urging the tallying of all VVPAT slips with EVM votes, Congress asserted its non-involvement in the petition. Pushing back against Narendra Modis characterization of the verdict as a rebuke to the Opposition, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed to the Supreme Courts rebuke in the electoral bonds case.In a statement, Ramesh emphasized, The Indian National Congress was not a party, directly or indirectly, to the petition on VVPATs which has been rejected by the Supreme Court today.Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Spanking the Electoral Bond schemeResponding to PM Modis tight slap remark, Ramesh retorted, A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court administered a tighter slap - indeed, a spanking - by ruling the corruption-laden electoral bonds scheme not just illegal but also unconstitutional.Ramesh demanded an apology from the Prime Minister for allegedly amassing Rs 8,200 crore over five years through four channels of corruption: Chanda Do, Dhanda Lo Theka Lo, Ghoos do Hafta Vasooli, and Farzi Companies.Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP received 75 per cent of donations by loss-making firmsPreviously, Ramesh had raised similar allegations, citing a media report claiming the BJP received 75% of Rs 582 crore donated by 33 loss-making firms through electoral bonds.In February, the Supreme Courts five-judge Constitution bench invalidated the electoral bonds scheme, allowing anonymous donations to political parties, deeming it unconstitutional.However, the Congress pledged support for increased use of VVPATs to bolster public trust in elections, despite the Supreme Courts rejection of VVPAT-related pleas.We acknowledge the verdict of the two-judge bench, and our political advocacy for enhanced VVPAT usage to bolster public confidence in the electoral process will persist, tweeted Ramesh.In addition to dismissing VVPAT pleas, the Supreme Court rejected petitions advocating a return to ballot papers, cautioning against unwarranted scepticism by blindly distrusting any aspect of the system.
