CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) misused power to amass massive corporate donations through electoral trusts after the Supreme Court scrapped the Electoral Bonds scheme, calling it a grave threat to democracy.
After the Supreme Court struck down the Electoral Bonds scheme, data released by the Election Commission has revealed that the BJP received Rs 3,112 crore through electoral trusts in the financial year 2024-25 alone. While the BJP had secured 56 per cent of total political donations in 2023-24, its share surged to 85 per cent in 2024-25, leaving all other political parties with a mere 15 per cent.
Selvaperunthagai alleged that the BJP, by remaining in power at the Centre for over 11 years, misused its authority to grant large-scale concessions to corporate houses and, in return, received substantial financial contributions. Ahead of the 2024 general elections, the BJP mobilised funds extensively through electoral trusts, he alleged.
Of the Rs 2,181 crore received via the Prudent Electoral Trust, Rs 757 crore came from Larsen & Toubro. The Progressive Electoral Trust channelled Rs 257 crore from the Tata Group. He pointed out that the Tata Group received significant concessions under the Modi government's semiconductor mission. In the same period, the Aditya Birla Group donated Rs 606 crore, while the Mahindra Group contributed Rs 150 crore, he said.
Selvaperunthagai questioned whether such corporate funding could be named anything other than corruption, asserting that this unequal accumulation of resources played a key role in the BJP's 2024 election victory.
He further criticised the BJP for weakening the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme by reducing fund allocations and removing Mahatma Gandhi's name. Condemning the scrapping of the 100-day employment scheme, he announced a massive statewide protest on December 24 across Tamil Nadu by the DMK-led secular alliance, including the Congress.