'PM acted on my letter asking for takeover of RGF plot; Sonia Gandhi grabbed land': Swamy

On Wednesday, BJP RS MP Subramanian Swamy claimed that PM Modi had acted on his letter asking the Union government to take over the land on which Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was built. According to Swamy, the RGF was built on a plot allocated to the Congress party for building a party office. He alleged that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had grabbed this land, transforming the proposed office into a party trust. 

Read: 'Witch Hunt': Chidambaram Flays Centre Over RGF Probe, Recalls Fearless Attitude Of Ex-PMs

Talking to Republic TV on June 26, Swamy reminded that the RGF scam was originally raised by him in 2015. Maintaining that the then Union Finance Minister was not interested in pursuing the matter, the BJP MP revealed that he urged PM Modi to nationalise the RGF building. He stressed that it was illegal for a private body to encroach upon a prestigious government plot. 

"I did raise this issue in 2015, but the Finance Minister was not interested in proceeding with this matter. Now I am asking in a letter to the Prime Minister in reference to my previous letter, seeking to nationalise the foundation building and to cancel the order for the Congress party to get the plot because it is being used for another purpose," Swamy remarked. 

Read: 'How Much Is China Within Our Borders Still?' Asks Congress Amid De-escalation, RGF Probe

Allegations against Congress

While Congress president Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the RGF, senior party leaders such as Dr.Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra serve as trustees. BJP highlighted that Congress-backed RGF had received a donation of Rs.90 lakh from the Chinese Embassy in India in 2006-07. 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. Providing an explanation, the Congress party claimed that the PMNRF money donated to the RGF was utilised in tsunami relief work. 

Read: 'Clear Evidence Of Quid-pro-quo': Centre's First Response On Probe Into Sonia-helmed RGF