Inter-ministerial panel coordinating probe into Congress-linked trusts holds first meeting

The inter-ministerial committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to probe the alleged violations by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and other Congress-linked trusts held its first meeting on Thursday. The meeting, which commenced at 3.15 pm, was held at the ED Zonal Office in the national capital. Special Director of ED Vivek Wadekar is heading the committee to coordinate the investigations pertaining to the purported flouting of PMLA, Income Tax Act, FCRA, etc.

As per sources, the foreign funding worth Rs.293 crore received by the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust from 2013 to 2019 is under the scanner. Sources added that the investigative agencies are examining the contribution of dubious companies to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The Congress party has cried foul after the announcement of the probe by the MHA.

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Serious charges against Congress

BJP highlighted that Congress-backed RGF had received a donation of Rs.90 lakh from the Chinese Embassy in India in 2006-07. While Congress president Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the trust, senior party leaders such as Dr.Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra serve as trustees. On June 26, BJP president JP Nadda shared documents to show that the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund money had been donated to the RGF. Terming this as a "brazen fraud", Nadda contended that one family's hunger for wealth had cost India immensely. While the Congress party has admitted that an MoU was signed with CPC, it claimed that the PMNRF money donated to the RGF was utilised in tsunami relief work. 

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Congress lashes out at Centre

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram termed the Centre's probe into Congress-linked trusts as a "witch hunt". Recalling that the brutal assassination of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Chidambaram stated that they faced death in the eye without fear. According to him, their message was that people should lead a fearless life. He added that the Congress party would face the probe with such an attitude. Reacting to the Centre's move, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi stated that he would not be intimidated. 

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