A mere five days after the arrest of P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, a director from Aurobindo Pharma, linked to the Delhi Excise Policy, the pharma company purchased electoral bonds worth a colossal 5 crore rupees on November 15, 2022. Subsequently, on November 21, these bonds were encashed by the BJP. This revelation emerged from bond data released by the State Bank of India.
Reddy, currently serving as a non-executive director, had been granted permission by a Delhi court to become a state witness for the liquor scam case next June. Moreover, the court absolved him in this high-profile case. Initially, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had alleged Reddy's involvement in collusion with business tycoons and politicians linked to excise duty discrepancies in the liquor industry for personal gain.
'66 percent' of the donations were channeled to the BJP...
From April 2021 to November 2023, Aurobindo Pharma snagged electoral bonds amounting to 52 crore rupees. Election records indicate that 66 percent of these bonds benefited the BJP, with 29 percent claimed by the Telangana-based Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the remainder by the Andhra Pradesh-based Telugu Desam Party.
Aurobindo Pharma stands as one of the country's leading pharmaceutical giants. In 2023, its revenue skyrocketed beyond 24 thousand crore rupees. Data indicates that 57 percent of the total 52 crore rupees in electoral bonds were procured between November 2022 and November 2023. Just five days post Reddy's arrest, the BJP redeemed 5 crore rupees on November 21, 2022.
Atishi Raises Concerns
At an AAP press conference on Saturday, leader and minister Atishi pointed to Sarath Reddy's electoral bond payments, targeting ED's presumed bias in following the ruling party's cues leading to Kejriwal's politically motivated arrest.
The ED's filed prosecution complaint alleges that Vijay Nair, the communications in-charge of AAP, accepted an alleged bribe of 100 crore rupees from a conglomerate referred to as the 'South Group'. This bribe was ostensibly an advance under a deal between the South Group and AAP leaders. Aurobindo Pharma today is a global force operating in 150 countries, with 90 percent of its revenue originating from international ventures.
AAP's Press Conference Brings Tough Questions to Light
In a press conference, AAP spokesperson Jasmine Shah questioned the six-month incarceration of Sarath Reddy by the ED and the forced confession of his interactions with Arvind Kejriwal. The party raised three poignant questions:
How is the BJP connected to the accused Sarath Reddy? What is the nature of this relationship?
Why did the BJP accept nearly 60 crore rupees from Reddy's company?
Why hasn't the BJP disclosed this information to the ED so far?
