Rahul Gandhi silent on 'Rajiv Gandhi Foundation scam', mocks PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat

Amid political fire between BJP and Congress on the recent LAC standoff and border tension with China, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has mocked on PM Modi's monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat and asked when will talks on national security will be held? However, the former Congress chief has till now not said a word on the MoU he signed with Chinese CCP and BJP's allegations that Congress diverted money from PMNRF to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. However, on Saturday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram admitted that funds were diverted to Congress-backed RGF in 2005 but stated that it was utilised in tsunami relief work in Andaman & Nicobar.

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Congress faces serious accusations

BJP raised 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 Rahul Gandhi, Dr.Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra serve as trustees.

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 is yet to respond on the allegations pertaining to the controversial donations to the RGF. 

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The MoU signed between former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Wang Jiarui, Minister of the International Department of Central Committee of the CPC on August 7, 2008, has also come in for criticism. The agreement reportedly pertained to exchanging high-level information and cooperation between Congress and the CPC besides providing the two parties with the "opportunity to consult each other on important bilateral, regional and international developments”.

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BJP vs Congress: 10 questions each

On Saturday, BJP National President JP Nadda continued to question the Congress party over the alleged 'Rajiv Gandhi Foundation scam.' The BJP President posed 10 questions for the Congress to answer and also claimed that the RGF took hefty donations from major Indian corporates, in the name of 'poor people.' Moreover, the BJP President highlighted that the Indian government and the Army are capable of protecting India's sovereignty, adding that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration has also fought with COVID-19 pandemic in the 'best possible manner.' 

Reacting to Nadda’s allegations, Congress stated that the BJP president has ‘lost his political balance’ in his failing attempts to distract people from the issues of national security. BJP is crafting new conspiracy every day, to spread disinformation and to bury the ‘incompetence and failure’ of the Modi Government in defending the borders, he said. Sujrewala also stated that the BJP leadership is afraid of the questions being asked on its deep-rooted connections with China and the CCP.

PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat'

In his Mann Ki Baat for June, PM Modi made perhaps his strongest anti-China statements since the LAC clash in which 20 Jawans were martyred.

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