Fact Check: Amit Shah's electoral bond figures found inaccurate
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently addressed the India Today Conclave. However, his remarks on electoral bonds contradicted public data. The total amount for electoral bonds quoted by Shah was Rs. 20,000 crore, whereas ECI data indicated Rs. 12,000 crore.
Amit Shah’s Claim:
Shah stated, "I want to clear my position in front of the nation. BJP received approximately Rs 6,000 crore worth of bonds, whereas the total worth of bonds were Rs 20,000 crore. Where are the rest bonds that are worth around Rs 14,000 crore? I will explain. TMC received Rs 1600 crore, Rs 1400 crore to Congress, Rs 1200 crore to BRS, Rs 775 crore to BJD, Rs 639 crore to DMK."
This statement was shared on the minister's official X handle.
Shah further claimed that if other parties had a similar number of MPs as the BJP, their collection from electoral bonds would have been much higher. This statement was widely circulated on social media platforms.
Fact:
According to data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the total amount of electoral bonds was approximately Rs 12,000 crores. Therefore, Shah's claim that opposition parties received about Rs 14,000 crore contradicts publicly available data.
The ECI data revealed that the BJP received almost 50 percent of the total electoral bonds. TMC and the Congress party were the second and third highest beneficiaries, respectively.
This report was based on data released by the ECI after the SBI shared information on bonds purchased between April 2019 and February 2024, following the Supreme Court's directive.
The BJP secured Rs 6,060 crore between April 12, 2019, and January 24, 2024, which accounted for over 47.5 percent of the total bonds encashed during that period.
TMC received approximately Rs 1,609 crore, while Congress received about Rs 1,421 crore, making them the second and third highest beneficiaries, respectively.
While Shah's approximate figures for the amounts received by individual parties align with the data, his claim of the total amount being Rs 20,000 crore is inaccurate.
In conclusion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's assertion that opposition parties received around Rs 14,000 crores from electoral bonds is false, as it contradicts publicly available data.
