The BJP acquired donations value Rs 5 crore by way of electoral bonds from one of many approvers within the the Delhi liquor coverage case, the most recent information launched by the Election Fee revealed.
P Sarath Chandra Reddy was the director of Aurobindo Pharma when he was arrested on November 10, 2022, within the Delhi liquor coverage case. 5 days later, the corporate bought electoral bonds totalling Rs 5 crore. This quantity, as revealed by the most recent information, was redeemed by the BJP on November 21, 2022.
Notably, AAP chief and Delhi Schooling Minister Atishi on Saturday talked about that Sarath Reddy’s electoral bond funds, implying that the Enforcement Directorate was performing on the behest of the ruling BJP.
She stated that the “money trail”, which the probe company laid out in its case in opposition to arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, truly went to the BJP by way of electoral bonds.
In June 2023, a Delhi court docket permitted Sarath Reddy, who’s presently the non-executive director of Aurobindo Pharma, to behave as an approver within the liquor coverage case. Moreover, the court docket prolonged a pardon to Reddy within the case.
The Enforcement Directorate beforehand asserted that Sarath Reddy was implicated within the liquor trade, allegedly colluding with enterprise figures and politicians linked to the case, and interesting in unfair market practices to use the now-scrapped liquor coverage.
The most recent bond information revealed that between April 2021 and November 2023, Aurobindo Pharma bought electoral bonds amounting to Rs 52 crore. The info signifies that 66 per cent of those bonds had been directed in the direction of the BJP, with 29 per cent being cashed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the remaining portion by the Telugu Desam Occasion (TDP).
Information reveals that 57 per cent of the Rs 52 crore in electoral bonds had been acquired between November 2022 and November 2023.
Aurobindo Pharma is likely one of the main pharmaceutical corporations within the nation. Its income surpassed Rs 24,000 crore in 2023.
In accordance with the prosecution grievance filed by the Enforcement Directorate, Vijay Nair, the communication in-charge of AAP, purportedly acquired kickbacks totalling Rs 100 crore from a bunch, known as the ‘South Group’, primarily based on statements from varied folks recorded through the investigation.
Sarath Reddy was beforehand implicated in affiliation with this group.
The Enforcement Directorate asserted that these kickbacks had been supplied upfront to AAP leaders by way of Vijay Nair by the ‘South Group’, as a part of an settlement between the group and AAP leaders.
The association aimed to safe unhindered entry, undue favours, and stakes in established wholesale companies and a number of retail zones, surpassing what was permissible beneath the liquor coverage.
Aurobindo Pharma has a worldwide presence in 150 international locations, 90 per cent of its income comes from worldwide ventures.