Complying with the order and adhering to the deadline set by the court, the State of India (SBI) released the data of electoral bonds. The Election Commission has made the date public on its website. After SBI released the date, it was found that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), and Trinamool Congress (TMC) have benefited the most from electoral bonds and have received the highest amount of money. After the date was made public, the claim of Serum Institute of India donating Rs 50 crore to BJP is going viral on X platform (formerly Twitter). Many users have shared this claim alleging that this is the reason why only Serum Institute vaccines were allowed in India and no other vaccines were allowed.
Fake news peddler and Congress supporter, Roshan Rai (archived link) sharing the screenshot of the donation wrote, “SHOCKING EXPOSÊ SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA Donated 50 Crore Rupees to the BJP. Is that the reason why no other vaccine was allowed in India?”
🚨SHOCKING EXPOSÊ
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) March 14, 2024
SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA Donated 50 Crore Rupees to the BJP.
Is that the reason why no other vaccine was allowed in India? pic.twitter.com/WGv9CqIF7r
INC member, Avinash Kabde (archived link), wrote, “Serum Institute of India donated Rs 50 crore to BJP. Is this the reason why Modi ji did not allow any other vaccine in India and promoted vaccines like his own?”
सीरम इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ इंडिया ने बीजेपी को 50 करोड़ रुपये का चंदा दिया।
— Avinash Kadbe اویناش کڈبے (@INCAvinashkadbe) March 14, 2024
क्या यही कारण है कि मोदी जी ने भारत में किसी अन्य वैक्सीन को अनुमति नहीं दी और खुद की तरह वेक्सिन का प्रचार किया?#ElectoralBondsCase pic.twitter.com/aSiQOLH6Vd
AICC member Pankhuri Pathak (archived link), wrote, “Another big news has come out. #Covishield Manufacturing company Serum Institute of India had given Rs 50 crore to BJP through confidential bond. It is possible that more donations may have been made before or after this, information about the same is not yet public. It may be known that other vaccines were not approved in India…”
एक और बड़ी खबर सामने आई है ।#Covishield बनाने वाली कम्पनी Serum Institute Of India ने भाजपा को गोपनीय बॉन्ड से 50 करोड़ रुपए दिए थे !
— Pankhuri Pathak पंखुड़ी पाठक پنکھڑی (@pankhuripathak) March 14, 2024
हो सकता है इसके पहले या बाद और भी चंदा दिया गया हो, उसकी जानकारी अभी सार्वजनिक नहीं है।
ज्ञात होगा कि अन्य vaccines को भारत में अनुमति नहीं मिली… https://t.co/0vCAmNYjQE pic.twitter.com/ApIYKaBWYr
All India Congress Committee (AICC) member of Assam, Pradyut Bhuyan (archived link), wrote, “BIG EXPOSE: SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA donated 52 Crore Rupees in a single day to the BJP as electoral bonds. Now you can understand why no other vaccine was allowed in India.”
🚨🚨BIG EXPOSE:
— Pradyut Bhuyan (@PradyutBhuyan) March 15, 2024
SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA donated 52 Crore Rupees in a single day to the BJP as electoral bonds.
Now you can understand why no other vaccine was allowed in India.@INCIndia @INCAssam pic.twitter.com/NLNJQ7aTx6
Manish Kumar Advocate (archived link), wrote, “Another big news has come out. #Covishield manufacturing company Serum Institute of India had given Rs 50 crore to BJP through confidential bond! It is possible that more donations may have been made before or after this, information about the same is not yet public. It may be known that other vaccines were not approved in India…”
Another big news has come out.
— Mαɳιʂԋ Kυɱαɾ αԃʋσƈαƚҽ 🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@Manishkumarttp) March 14, 2024
#Covishield manufacturing company Serum Institute of India had given Rs 50 crore to BJP through confidential bond!
It is possible that more donations may have been made before or after this, information about the same is not yet public.
It may be… pic.twitter.com/rkbxd7DIwq
User Pratik Patel (archived link), claimed, “The truth about ELECTORAL BOND has been revealed. When the country was going through a serious epidemic, our sir was making a deal. Serum Institute was given monopoly to make vaccine by taking only Rs 52 crores..! Modi sons of Modi family, do you have anything to say?”
ELECTORAL BOND का सच सामने आ चुका है।
— Pratik Patel (@PratikVoiceObc) March 14, 2024
जब देश गंभीर महामारी से गुजर रहा था तब हमारे साहब एक डील कर रहें थें।
सीरम इंस्टिट्यूट को महज 52 करोड़ लेकर एकाधिकार दिया गया वैक्सीन बनाने का..!
मोदी परिवार के मोदीपुत्रों कुछ कहना है ? pic.twitter.com/vhLWShRMIZ
User Miss. H (archived link), wrote, “SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA Donated 50 Crore to BJP as electoral bonds That is the reason why no other vaccine other than COVISHIELD was allowed in India.”
SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA Donated 50 Crore to BJP as electoral bonds
— 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀.𝗛🕊️ (@politicalbarbi) March 14, 2024
That is the reason why no other vaccine other than COVISHIELD was allowed in India pic.twitter.com/nDfp4Q2Qbt
Fact Check
In our fact checking research, we found that donations made through electoral bonds are completely anonymous. So the question arises that how did it come to light from the electoral bonds that Serum Institute of India donates Rs 50 crore to BJP? Apart from this, the name of Serum Institute of India is not there in the electoral bond issued by the Election Commission on its website. This indicates that the allegations made are completely baseless.
Let us first look at the allegation against the Modi government for not allowing the manufacturing of other vaccines. According to information available on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), several vaccines Covid vaccines were approved by the Indian govt, including Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik, Janssen, ZyCoV-D, Corbevax, Covovax, BBV154 and others were approved by the government for manufacturing and distribution in the country.
Moreover, due to some falling out negotiations the Pfizer vaccine was not made available in India. The company was said to have sought legal immunity from any harm caused by the vaccines. Moreover, the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were very expensive.
Furthermore, the screenshot that is going viral, which shows the Serum Institute of India making donation is taken from a Reuters report, “Obscure trust links India’s top businesses with Modi’s election war chest” which is based on the electoral trust and talks about donations made through the medium and not about electoral bonds.
Electoral trust and electoral bond are same but two different ways of donating money to political parties. Electoral Trust was brought by Congress in 2013, in which any company wishing to donate to political parties will have to give money to the trust. Then the trust will collect the money and distribute it to political parties. The trust has to ensure that it gives at least 95% of the money collected by it to political parties in the same financial year. Apart from this, a record will also have to be kept as to who donated how much money.
At the same time, electoral bonds were brought by BJP, in which people can donate without revealing their identity. To donate through electoral bonds, one has to buy the bonds from certain banks and then give them to political parties. Unlike electoral trusts, donations are completely anonymous.
Now, coming to the claim that Serum Institute of India donated Rs 50 crore through electoral bonds, Reuters report shows that the donation of Rs 50 crore was made in 2022 through electoral trust. The Trust report shows that Serum donated ₹50 crore to Prudent in August 2022.
The Reuters report said Prudent Electoral Trust received significant amounts of contributions from corporate and the trust in turn donated to political parties, with the majority going to BJP. According to Reuters analysis, BJP received 74.8% of contributions from Prudent, while the rest went to other parties. Donations from the Serum Institute and GMR Group, DLF Ltd (DLF.NS) and Essar Group companies went to the BJP soon after Prudent received them.
The facts mentioned above makes it evident that the allegation about government not approving other vaccines in India after receiving the donation from the Serum Institute of India is a fallacy as the donation was made two years after the launch of Covishield, i.e. in 2022. By 2022, when the Serum Institute of India donated Rs 50 crore to the electoral trust, everyone eligible for the vaccine had already received both doses.
| Claim | Only vaccines from Serum Institute of India was allowed, other vaccines were not approved in India |
| Claimed by | Roshan Rai, Avinash Kabde, Pankhuri Pathak, Pradyut Bhuyan, Manish Advocate and others |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
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