The Evening Wrap: ECI makes fresh electoral bonds data public

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 17 made public fresh data on electoral bonds, which it had submitted in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and was later asked to put it in public domain. These details are believed to be pertaining to the period before April 12, 2019. Electoral bond details after this date was made public by the poll panel last week. Political parties had filed data on Electoral Bonds in sealed cover as directed by the Supreme Court’s interim order dated April 12, 2019, the poll panel said in a statement. “Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court’s order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website,” ECI said. The BJP received the maximum funds through these bonds at ₹6,986.5 crore since they were introduced in 2018 followed by the Trinamool Congress (₹1,397 crore), the Congress (₹1,334 crore) and the BRS (₹1,322 crore). The BJD received ₹944.5 crore, followed by the DMK (₹656.5 crore) and the YSR Congress redeemed bonds worth nearly ₹442.8 crore. The JD(S) received bonds worth ₹89.75 crore, including ₹50 crore from Megha Engineering, the second largest purchaser of electoral bonds. Future Gaming and Hotel Services, the top purchaser of electoral bonds, donated ₹509 crore to DMK through the scheme, the data showed. Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at ₹1,368 crore, of which nearly 37% went to the DMK. Other major donors of the DMK included Megha Engineering ₹105 crore, India Cements ₹14 crore and Sun TV ₹100 crore. The TDP redeemed bonds worth ₹181.35 crore, Shiv Sena ₹60.4 crore, RJD ₹56 crore, Samajwadi Party got ₹14.05 crore via electoral bonds, Akali Dal ₹7.26 crore, AIADMK ₹6.05 crore, National Conference ₹50 lakh. The CPI(M) and BSP declared that they did not receive funds through electoral bonds. The DMK was among the few political parties to disclose the identity of the donors, while major parties such as the BJP, Congress, TMC and AAP did not disclose these details to the Election Commission, which has now made public those filing as per a Supreme Court order. PM Modi asks Ministers to draft roadmap for first 100 days, next 5 years of new government during Cabinet meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 17 told Ministers to draft a roadmap for the first 100 days and next five years for new government, sources said. Chairing a Cabinet meeting in New Delhi this morning, Modi also asked the Ministers to meet Secretaries and other officials of their respective Ministries to discuss how the agenda for the first 100 days and the next five years can be better implemented. The meeting was held a day after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls 2024. The Cabinet also initiated the process of notifying the dates of the seven-phase parliamentary elections by sending the ECI’s recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu. The first notification will be issued on March 20 for the first phase of polls on April 19 on 102 seats. The nomination process begins for a particular phase with the issuance of the notification. International students assaulted for offering Namaz at Gujarat University hostel; MEA in touch with State government Students hailing from different foreign countries staying at Gujarat University hostel in Ahmedabad were assaulted allegedly by a group over the issue of offering Namaz on the hostel campus, police said on March 17. A few injured students have been admitted to SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad after the incident which took place on March 16 night. “Around 300 foreign students from Africa, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and other countries study here at the Gujarat University,” Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said, adding “In Block A, around 75 foreign students, who live there, were offering prayers at their hostel yesterday around 10.30 p.m. Some 20-25 people entered the hostel premises and objected to the international students offering namaz there, asking them to do so in a mosque. They argued over the issue, assaulted them and hurled stones.” A FIR was registered against 20-25 people and nine teams of security personnel were formed to conduct a probe into the incident, Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said. The police responded within minutes after a call was made to the control room at 10.51 p.m. A police van reached the spot and action was taken, he said. Two students — one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan — have been hospitalised, he said. Meanwhile, Gujarat’s Minister of State for Hone Harsh Sanghvi held a meeting with DGP and Ahmedabad Police Commissioner regarding the incident. Nine teams have been formed, including four from the crime branch and five from local police under the DCP, to conduct a probe into the case, he said. The Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with the Gujarat government regarding the incident, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. ED issues fresh summons to Delhi CM Kejriwal in Excise policy case The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear for questioning on March 21 in the Excise policy linked money laundering case, official sources said on March 17. Kejriwal has been asked to depose at the central agency’s office in central Delhi. The ninth summons have been issued so that Kejriwal’s statement can be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the sources said. The CM has repeatedly refused to appear in response to these summons, calling them illegal. A Delhi court on March 16 granted bail to Kejriwal on two complaints filed by the agency against him for skipping six of the previous eight summons in this case. The ED had moved the magisterial court seeking Kejriwal’s prosecution for not attending the summonses issued to him in the case. Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED in the Excise policy case. The agency has said that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal regarding the preparation of the Excise policy for 2021-22. Israeli PM Netanyahu vows to invade Gaza’s Rafah despite world ‘pressure’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on March 17 to send ground forces into Gaza’s southern Rafah city despite growing international concern over the fate of Palestinian civilians sheltering there. Netanyahu, whose security and war Cabinets were later due to discuss latest international efforts towards a truce deal, stressed that “no amount of international pressure will stop us from realising all the goals of the war”. “To do this, we will also operate in Rafah,” he told a Cabinet meeting, hours before he was set to meet visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks on the war raging since October 7. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Rafah, now home to nearly 1.5 million mostly displaced Gazans sheltering near the Egyptian border. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose country provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, has said a Rafah invasion would be a “red line” without credible measures to protect civilians. U.N. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel “in the name of humanity” not to launch a Rafah assault, warning that “this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen”. Envoys were planning to meet in Qatar soon to revive stalled talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. A Hamas proposal calls for an Israeli withdrawal from “all cities and populated areas” in Gaza during a six-week truce and for more humanitarian aid, according to an official from the Palestinian group. Israel plans to attend the talks, with Cabinet members due to “decide on the mandate of the delegation in charge of the negotiations before its departure for Doha”, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said, without giving a date for when they would leave. The war meanwhile raged on, and overnight Israeli bombardment across the Hamas-ruled territory killed at least 61 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The dead included 12 members of the same family whose house was hit in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 31,645 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Jordan on March 17 announced the latest aid airdrop over northern Gaza together with German, U.S. and Egyptian aircraft. Netanyahu has faced domestic pressure over the remaining captives, with protesters rallying in Tel Aviv on March 16 carrying banners urging a “hostage deal now”. In Rafah, the crisis has only grown worse, said medical staff at a clinic run by Palestinian volunteers that offers treatment for displaced Gazans. In BriefECI advances counting date for Arunachal, Sikkim Assembly elections to June 2 The Election Commission of India on March 17 advanced the date of the counting of votes for the Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim Assembly polls to June 2 from June 4. The term of the two Assemblies are ending on June 2 and so the date has been advanced, the ECI said. 21 dead in Afghanistan after bus collides with tanker At least 21 people were killed and 38 injured on March 17 when a bus collided with a fuel tanker truck and burst into flames in southern Afghanistan. Of the 38 people injured, 11 were seriously hurt, according to the provincial information department. The passenger bus was travelling from Herat to Kabul when it first collided with a motorbike carrying two people, killing both riders, Helmand traffic management officials said, according to the information department. The bus driver lost control and crashed with a tanker truck travelling in the opposite direction, sparking a fire. The accident killed three people on the tanker and 16 bus passengers. Youtuber Elvish Yadav arrested by Noida Police Youtuber Elvish Yadav was arrested on March 17 by Noida Police in connection with a probe into the suspected use of snake venom as a recreational drug at a party in Noida, officials said. Yadav was among six people named in an FIR lodged at Sector 49 police station in Noida on November 3 last year. The five other accused were arrested but are currently out on bail, the officials said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 17 March 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( ECI makes fresh electoral bonds data public; BJP received ₹6,986.5 crore, Future Gaming top donor for DMK [The Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 17 made public fresh data on electoral bonds, which it had submitted in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and was later asked to put it in public domain.]( These details are believed to be pertaining to the period before April 12, 2019. Electoral bond details after this date was made public by the poll panel last week. Political parties had filed data on Electoral Bonds in sealed cover as directed by the Supreme Court’s interim order dated April 12, 2019, the poll panel said in a statement. “Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court’s order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website,” ECI said. The BJP received the maximum funds through these bonds at ₹6,986.5 crore since they were introduced in 2018 followed by the Trinamool Congress (₹1,397 crore), the Congress (₹1,334 crore) and the BRS (₹1,322 crore). The BJD received ₹944.5 crore, followed by the DMK (₹656.5 crore) and the YSR Congress redeemed bonds worth nearly ₹442.8 crore. The JD(S) received bonds worth ₹89.75 crore, including ₹50 crore from Megha Engineering, the second largest purchaser of electoral bonds. Future Gaming and Hotel Services, the top purchaser of electoral bonds, donated ₹509 crore to DMK through the scheme, the data showed. Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at ₹1,368 crore, of which nearly 37% went to the DMK. Other major donors of the DMK included Megha Engineering ₹105 crore, India Cements ₹14 crore and Sun TV ₹100 crore. The TDP redeemed bonds worth ₹181.35 crore, Shiv Sena ₹60.4 crore, RJD ₹56 crore, Samajwadi Party got ₹14.05 crore via electoral bonds, Akali Dal ₹7.26 crore, AIADMK ₹6.05 crore, National Conference ₹50 lakh. The CPI(M) and BSP declared that they did not receive funds through electoral bonds. The DMK was among the few political parties to disclose the identity of the donors, while major parties such as the BJP, Congress, TMC and AAP did not disclose these details to the Election Commission, which has now made public those filing as per a Supreme Court order. PM Modi asks Ministers to draft roadmap for first 100 days, next 5 years of new government during Cabinet meet [Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 17 told Ministers to draft a roadmap for the first 100 days and next five years for new government, sources said.]( Chairing a Cabinet meeting in New Delhi this morning, Modi also asked the Ministers to meet Secretaries and other officials of their respective Ministries to discuss how the agenda for the first 100 days and the next five years can be better implemented. The meeting was held a day after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls 2024. The Cabinet also initiated the process of notifying the dates of the seven-phase parliamentary elections by sending the ECI’s recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu. The first notification will be issued on March 20 for the first phase of polls on April 19 on 102 seats. The nomination process begins for a particular phase with the issuance of the notification. International students assaulted for offering Namaz at Gujarat University hostel; MEA in touch with State government [Students hailing from different foreign countries staying at Gujarat University hostel in Ahmedabad were assaulted allegedly by a group over the issue of offering Namaz on the hostel campus, police said on March 17.]( A few injured students have been admitted to SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad after the incident which took place on March 16 night. “Around 300 foreign students from Africa, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and other countries study here at the Gujarat University,” Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said, adding “In Block A, around 75 foreign students, who live there, were offering prayers at their hostel yesterday around 10.30 p.m. Some 20-25 people entered the hostel premises and objected to the international students offering namaz there, asking them to do so in a mosque. They argued over the issue, assaulted them and hurled stones.” A FIR was registered against 20-25 people and nine teams of security personnel were formed to conduct a probe into the incident, Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said. The police responded within minutes after a call was made to the control room at 10.51 p.m. A police van reached the spot and action was taken, he said. Two students — one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan — have been hospitalised, he said. Meanwhile, Gujarat’s Minister of State for Hone Harsh Sanghvi held a meeting with DGP and Ahmedabad Police Commissioner regarding the incident. Nine teams have been formed, including four from the crime branch and five from local police under the DCP, to conduct a probe into the case, he said. The Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with the Gujarat government regarding the incident, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. ED issues fresh summons to Delhi CM Kejriwal in Excise policy case The [Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear for questioning on March 21 in the Excise policy linked money laundering case]( official sources said on March 17. Kejriwal has been asked to depose at the central agency’s office in central Delhi. The ninth summons have been issued so that Kejriwal’s statement can be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the sources said. The CM has repeatedly refused to appear in response to these summons, calling them illegal. A Delhi court on March 16 granted bail to Kejriwal on two complaints filed by the agency against him for skipping six of the previous eight summons in this case. The ED had moved the magisterial court seeking Kejriwal’s prosecution for not attending the summonses issued to him in the case. Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED in the Excise policy case. The agency has said that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal regarding the preparation of the Excise policy for 2021-22. Israeli PM Netanyahu vows to invade Gaza’s Rafah despite world ‘pressure’ Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on March 17 to send ground forces into Gaza’s southern Rafah]( city despite growing international concern over the fate of Palestinian civilians sheltering there. Netanyahu, whose security and war Cabinets were later due to discuss latest international efforts towards a truce deal, stressed that “no amount of international pressure will stop us from realising all the goals of the war”. “To do this, we will also operate in Rafah,” he told a Cabinet meeting, hours before he was set to meet visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks on the war raging since October 7. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Rafah, now home to nearly 1.5 million mostly displaced Gazans sheltering near the Egyptian border. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose country provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, has said a Rafah invasion would be a “red line” without credible measures to protect civilians. U.N. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel “in the name of humanity” not to launch a Rafah assault, warning that “this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen”. Envoys were planning to meet in Qatar soon to revive stalled talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. A Hamas proposal calls for an Israeli withdrawal from “all cities and populated areas” in Gaza during a six-week truce and for more humanitarian aid, according to an official from the Palestinian group. Israel plans to attend the talks, with Cabinet members due to “decide on the mandate of the delegation in charge of the negotiations before its departure for Doha”, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said, without giving a date for when they would leave. The war meanwhile raged on, and overnight Israeli bombardment across the Hamas-ruled territory killed at least 61 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The dead included 12 members of the same family whose house was hit in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 31,645 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Jordan on March 17 announced the latest aid airdrop over northern Gaza together with German, U.S. and Egyptian aircraft. Netanyahu has faced domestic pressure over the remaining captives, with protesters rallying in Tel Aviv on March 16 carrying banners urging a “hostage deal now”. In Rafah, the crisis has only grown worse, said medical staff at a clinic run by Palestinian volunteers that offers treatment for displaced Gazans. In Brief ECI advances counting date for Arunachal, Sikkim Assembly elections to June 2 The [Election Commission of India on March 17 advanced the date of the counting of votes for the Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim Assembly polls to June 2 from June 4](. The term of the two Assemblies are ending on June 2 and so the date has been advanced, the ECI said. 21 dead in Afghanistan after bus collides with tanker [At least 21 people were killed and 38 injured on March 17 when a bus collided with a fuel tanker truck and burst into flames in southern Afghanistan](. Of the 38 people injured, 11 were seriously hurt, according to the provincial information department. The passenger bus was travelling from Herat to Kabul when it first collided with a motorbike carrying two people, killing both riders, Helmand traffic management officials said, according to the information department. The bus driver lost control and crashed with a tanker truck travelling in the opposite direction, sparking a fire. The accident killed three people on the tanker and 16 bus passengers. Youtuber Elvish Yadav arrested by Noida Police [Youtuber Elvish Yadav was arrested on March 17 by Noida Police in connection with a probe into the suspected use of snake venom as a recreational drug at a party in Noida]( officials said. Yadav was among six people named in an FIR lodged at Sector 49 police station in Noida on November 3 last year. The five other accused were arrested but are currently out on bail, the officials said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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