The lottery and real-estate king of Coimbatore, Santiago Martin has promoted more than 100 companies, most of which are registered in Coimbatore itself. Some are incorporated in Kolkata also. The petitioners may have to close the chapter prematurely due to the unexpected results they get from the revelation of the Electoral Bond. Now, can we expect the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR) to examine the two top bond buyers’ political interests and fight for ‘democratic reforms’ in the States where local satraps rule the roost?
Activists and oppositions thought the electoral bond would be an electoral bomb on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the time of the election. A national news channel rightly called it a damp squib. Who got how much was clear. That brought no embarrassment to anyone, except a surprise at Adanai’s and Ambani’s absence from the list of buyers.
The list of beneficiaries also threw up unexpected results. The BJP got proportionately less than the percentage of elected members in the parliament. It has around 56 per cent of the total Lok Sabha seats.
When the State Bank of India (SBI) sought an extension of the deadline until June 30 to submit the list of the buyers of electoral bonds and names of the beneficiaries, the opposition doubted the intention. The Supreme Court rejected the request on 11th May, leaving behind no room for guessing about the Court’s leniency. By that time, SBI had already become the victim of many foul allegations of trying to save the government from election issues. But SBI submitted the names of buyers of the bearer bond and the beneficiaries on March 12 to the Election Commission. A day before the deadline the data was available for public view.
Media investigated the background of the top buyers and found many of them under ED, and IT scrutiny. That spoiled the chance for the opposition parties to seek the blood of the Modi government. The top bond buyers are under various investigations for suspected fraud and money laundering. Media and politicians know the political relationship and background of Santiago Martin, the owner of Future Gaming Solutions, the biggest bonder buyer. His company bought bonds worth Rs 1368 crore.
Everyone knows who Santiago Martin is close to in Tamilnadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In Tamilnadu, he has more than 100 companies. Most of them are registered in Coimbatore.
(Santiago Martin)
A few like Radiant Towers And Traders and Majestic Towers And Traders were incorporated in West Bengal on the same day, 07 September 2022. On 20th October 2021, he incorporated four limited liability partnership firms Giant City Promoters, Smart City Dwellers, Smart City Homes, and Smart City Developers in Coimbatore. No one might have heard about an entrepreneur incorporating four companies in a single day. He has an interest in expanding his business in casinos and sports betting.
Some years ago Martin was alleged to have contributed Rs 2 crore to CPI(M) through its daily newspaper, Deshabhimani, which led to the rift between Pinaray Vijayan and Achuthanandan. But both of them had something good to say about Martin.
He has solid political connections in Tamilnadu, which started after he produced a Tamil film based on a screenplay written by Karunanidhi. He has built a huge business empire in Tamilnadu through his political connections. His wife, Leema Rose Martin, is the head of Martin Homeopathy Medical College and Hospital in Coimbatore, where Santiago Martin has built a real estate empire.
The two top bond buyers have interests in state-level services, projects and politics, mainly in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal. The data shows regional parties based in these States have got more than they deserved. The Association for Democratic Reform (ADR), who filed the petition, couldn’t expect the list to be so disappointing.
None got even the remotest shade of the involvement of Gujarati business houses and companies based in Gujarat. The petitioners finally may feel sorry for their adventure if their battle shifts the media attention to the DMK and Trinamool Congress. More cats will soon be out of the bag.
Udaykumar Marar
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