On 27 October 2022, Cairn Oil and Gas, a unit of Vedanta Limited, secured approval from the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) to extend its licence to explore and produce oil and gas in Rajasthan until May 2030.
On 14 November 2022, within a span of 18 days, the Vedanta group had purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 110 crore. Now, fresh data released by the Election Commission of India, on 21 March, shows that out the electoral bonds of Rs 110 crore purchased by Vedanta, Rs 100 crore went to BJP while Congress got Rs 10 crore.
Cairn, India's largest oil and natural gas production company, has been embroiled in several controversies concerning environmental violations over the years. In August 2023, a report by OCCRP (Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) found that Cairn India successfully lobbied to weaken key environmental regulations.
Speaking off the record, a source from the ministry, however, clarified that any "correlation" between the extension of the license and donations via electoral bonds would be "mischievous". "MoPNG is not aware of any such donations. Various donors donate throughout the political cycle. There are at least 50+ licenses which were extended by the ministry. There have been instances when the firm has been fined by the ministry or when their contentions have not been accepted by the ministry. They have operations across sectors. So any such correlation is not true," the source said.
In total, Vedanta purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 404.4 crore between April 2019 and January 2024. While BJP received Rs 230.15 crore out of the company's total donations. The Congress received Rs 125 crore, and Odisha's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got Rs 40 crore.