Ranchi, Mar 14 (PTI) Jharkhand Congress on Thursday emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the benefits conferred upon companies through the electoral bonds.

Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said, "A comprehensive study is essential to ascertain the extent of benefits provided to companies via the electoral bonds under the auspices of the government at the Centre."

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Thakur raised concerns about the opacity surrounding the disclosure of electoral bond details, suggesting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have significant gains from this process.

He remarked, "The BJP's attempts to conceal these details have raised suspicions that they might be the primary beneficiaries."

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This assertion follows the Election Commission's decision to make electoral bond data public, which occurred concurrently with Thakur's statement.

Thakur highlighted that while initial reports on the bonds have emerged, the specific distribution of benefits among political parties remains undisclosed. He suggested that the BJP's reluctance to reveal these details hints at potential imbalances in favour of the party.

"Presently, only initial reports are coming about the bonds. It is still not known what percentage of benefit went to which party. The BJP could be the biggest beneficiary, as it wanted to hide the details," Thakur said.

The Election Commission on Thursday made the data on electoral bonds public. The EC has put the details on 'Disclosure of Electoral Bonds submitted by SBI' in two parts. The top court had given the Election Commission time till 5 pm of March 15 to upload the data on its website.

Despite attempts to get reactions from BJP spokespersons such as Pratul Shahdeo and Shivpujan Pathak, as well as BJP Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash, there has been no response. Prakash sought additional time to review the information before commenting on the issue. PTI SAN

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)