‘Trying to divert public attention from main issues’: Congress slams BJP for action against RGF

New Delhi: Congress on Sunday, October 23, 2022, hit back at the Centre for action against the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT), saying the move is aimed at diverting public attention from the main issues being faced by the country. The government has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences of the RGF and the RGCT - two NGOs headed by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi - for alleged violation of laws, officials said on Sunday.

"They (Centre) recycle old charges against the RGF and RGCT. This is to defame the Congress and divert public attention from issues of day-to-day concern to them," said Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh. The economy is in deep crisis caused by spiralling prices, unemployment and a falling rupee, he said.

What BJP said

Earlier on Sunday, BJP welcomed the cancellation of the FCRA licences of two NGOs headed by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and said the Gandhi family and organisations linked to them can't be above law.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that the home ministry's decision to cancel the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licences of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) for alleged violation of laws has "exposed" their corruption.

He also hit out at the RGF for receiving donations from controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, the Chinese embassy and the Chinese government besides several people accused of corruption charges, including Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

Congress' NGOs

Sonia Gandhi was running the UPA government and the NGOs with extra-constitutional authority, he claimed, alleging that these private bodies received patronage from the then-ruling dispensation as several ministries and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) donated them huge amounts of money. Even the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund meant to help in disasters and accidents donated to the RGF, he noted. "The Gandhi family is present wherever there is corruption," Patra alleged.

These dynasts enjoyed perks of power without responsibility and accountability, he said. Government sources said the action against the two NGOs came following investigations carried out by an inter-ministerial committee formed by the MHA in 2020.

"The FCRA licences of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust have been cancelled after investigations against these NGOs," an official said. The investigators covered alleged manipulation of documents while filing income-tax returns, misuse of funds and money laundering while receiving funds from foreign countries, including China.

(With agency inputs)