The Congress took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for asking the Opposition to apologise over the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Electronic Voting Machine case. The party said it was the PM who should be apologising for taking funds under the electoral bond scheme.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “The Indian National Congress was not a party, directly or indirectly, to the VVPAT petition that was dismissed by the Supreme Court yesterday (Friday). Yet the Prime Minister says that the Supreme Court's decision on VVPAT is a big slap on the face of the opposition and we should apologize to the country. Remember that just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court had not only declared the corruption-ridden Electoral Bond Scheme illegal but also slapped the Prime Minister hard by declaring it unconstitutional.”
Ramesh added PM should apologise for collecting Rs 8,200 crore in five years using schemes declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. “The real apology should come from the prime minister, because he collected Rs 8,200 crore in five years using the following 'four methods' through a scheme that has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court - Prepaid bribe - Give donation, get business; Postpaid bribe - take the contract, give bribe; Posted bribe - weekly recovery; and Fake companies.”
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed pleas seeking paper ballot voting and 100 per cent verification of EVM-VVPAT slips. During a poll campaign on Friday, Modi said the apex court's judgment was a tight slap to the Opposition and it must apologise for committing the sin of creating distrust against EVMs.
