The ECI issued statistics on Electoral Bonds on March 14, providing the anti-Modi brigade with additional ammo for slandering the BJP as the Lok Sabha elections draw near. Using the statistics of political donations via electoral bonds, propagandists, the opposition, and left-leaning liberals crafted a narrative to target the BJP.
Mohammed Zubair, the Islamist propagandist and purveyor of fake news for Alt News, joined the bandwagon and deftly utilised the name of Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital to falsely incriminate the Modi government. The fact that there are two hospitals with this name located across the nation is something Zubair chose not to disclose.
OpIndia wrote a detailed report on March 15 exposing the sinister attempt by the “fact-checker” and his ilk to blow out of proportion the EB data to falsely implicate the Modi government. Zubair fell flat on his face after the Election Commission data corroborated OpIndia’s report. As soon as the ludicrous claim of the co-founder of Alt News was dispelled, he swiftly deleted his post and bolted.
All it took for this self proclaimed “fact checker” to delete his propaganda and run away. No apology. No retraction. Nothing.
— Nupur J Sharma (@UnSubtleDesi) March 15, 2024
Read the report: https://t.co/zrhmeqcbSI pic.twitter.com/JrFd3fbJtP
Let’s now go over the entire fiasco in more detail. The Indian Election Commission released a list of donors who bought electoral bonds along with the political parties that cashed them on March 14. Zubair made a rapid decision to take advantage of the opportunity. The ‘fact-checker’ from Alt News cleverly utilised the Yashoda Super Speciality facility, a modest 300-bed facility in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, to target the BJP government.
Mohammed Zubair spread false information claiming that this hospital in Uttar Pradesh bought bonds worth Rs 162 crores and gave them to the BJP. To insinuate a BJP link, he shared images of the X profiles of Upasana Arora and Prem Narayan Arora and images with Union Ministers.
On March 15, OpIndia reported on how opposition trolls, like Zubair, were spreading false information claiming that the hospital in Uttar Pradesh had bought the bonds and obliged the BJP. We further clarified that, based on media sources, there is a greater chance that the Hyderabad-based hospital, bearing the same name, may have bought the bond given the significant donations the BRS has received.
The data released by the Election Commission validated OpIndia’s report. The information revealed that Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana, had actually purchased the bonds worth the Rs 162 crores that Zubair had implied were purchased by the hospital in Ghaziabad to falsely implicate the BJP.
The electoral bonds valued at Rs 162 crore that Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana, purchased were split as follows. As can be observed, 94 crores of the 162 crores were donated to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, which is led by K Chandrasekhar Rao. The statistics also showed that Yashodha Super Speciality Hospital in Hyderabad gave the Congress party the second-highest donation, totalling Rs 64 crores.
Here, it’s also important to note the stark contrast between the donations made by Yashodha Super Speciality Hospital to BRS and Congress as compared to the BJP, which only received Rs 2 crores in donations out of the Rs 162 crores in bonds that the Hyderabad-based hospital bought.
Hyderabad-based Yashoda Hospitals is reportedly managed by relatives of former Telangana Chief Minister and BRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). The hospital is owned by Goruganti brothers and G Surender Rao is the managing director.
After the Election Commission released Electoral Bond data and validated what OpIndia reported, rumour monger Zubair, caught in his web of lies, discreetly removed his post. He failed to provide any explanation or apology for disseminating this misleading information.
Congress alleged undue favours and corruption years ago
Hyderabad-based Yashoda Hospitals is reportedly managed by relatives of former Telangana Chief Minister and BRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). The hospital is owned by Goruganti brothers and G Surender Rao is the managing director.
In April 2023, then-Telangana Congress President Revanth Reddy accused former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s relatives of obtaining land worth hundreds of crores at “dirt cheap” prices.
He accused KCR of “favouring” his relatives, including Gorukanti Devender Rao, Kalvakuntla Jagannatha Rao, Gorukanti Ravender Rao, who reportedly joined as directors of Alexandria Healthcity Hyderabad Pvt. Ltd.
Revanth Reddy accused KCR of giving 14,278 square yards, or 3 acres, of land to Yashoda Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd at 37,611 per square yard against the market value of 80,000 per square yard.
He said, “Through this Yashoda sale deed, there was another loss of Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.”
In August 2015, KCR felicitated the Goruganti brothers who donated their properties worth over Rs 1 crore in Rampur and Medipally villages in the district to the Grama Jyothi programme.
BRS is amongst the top receivers of electoral bonds
The biggest beneficiaries of the electoral bonds are the regional parties against the gains made by the BJP despite being the national ruling party and the ruling party in several states.
According to the electoral bond data submitted by the State Bank of India on the orders of the Supreme Court on Thursday, March 21, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd. (MEIL) was the biggest donor for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The data further revealed that K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi encashed Rs 1,214 crore in total, of which Rs 195 crore came from MEIL, Rs 94 crore from Yashodha Super Speciality Hospital, and Rs 50 crore from Chennai Green Woods Private Limited.
