Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged the electoral bonds scheme was the biggest “extortion scheme” in the world and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the “champion of corruption”.

 Addressing a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav here, Gandhi said there is a strong undercurrent in favour of the opposition INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections and the BJP will be limited to 150 seats.

 Yadav said the winds of change will start blowing from Ghaziabad in western Uttar Pradesh to Ghazipur and the BJP will be given a grand farewell in the Lok Sabha elections.

 “We have to ensure that not a single vote is divided in the Lok Sabha polls,” Yadav said.

Criticising the now-scrapped electoral bonds, Gandhi said the prime minister claims that the scheme was brought to bring transparency in poll funding but then why was it struck down by the Supreme Court.

 “The electoral bonds scheme is the biggest extortion scheme in the world. India’s businessmen know it very well. No matter how much the prime minister clarifies, it will have no impact because the entire nation knows that the prime minister is the champion of corruption,” Gandhi said.

 On Modi’s criticism of his remarks that the Congress will end poverty in no time, Gandhi said no one said that poverty will end in one go but we can make strong efforts for it.

 To questions on contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, the former Congress chief said he will abide by his party’s decision on this.

 Such decisions are taken by the Central Election Committee of the party, he said.

 The SP and the Congress are fighting the Lok Sabha polls in alliance in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is fighting on 17 seats while the SP and some other allies are contesting the remaining 63 seats in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

 The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls will begin on April 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.