Bengaluru, 18 March

In the light of the Electoral Bonds controversy, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd, has clarified that company did not make any political donations to any party. Taking to X, she said that any donations made were done on a personal level and with "white money." She said: “I purchased electoral bonds which I donated to JD(S) & several parties. My donations were nominal on the principle of funding election campaigns with white money.”

Responding to allegations that she donated a significant amount before the Karnataka Assembly elections, Mazumdar-Shaw refuted the claims and urged the user to reconsider their calculations. She added that these donations were not made with the expectation of receiving favours in return, but the donations made of her own free will.

Regarding the recent developments with electoral bonds, on 12 March the State Bank of India (SBI) shared all details of electoral bonds with the Election Commission of India (ECI). EC, in turn, released data received from political parties on electoral bonds, which had been submitted to the Supreme Court in sealed covers. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised BJP, questioning why they were silent about the electoral bonds case. He also raised concerns about SBI's reluctance to submit details of electoral bonds to the apex court. Salar News