Congress defends RGF, questions Chinese donations to PM CARES, contracts for firms

Targeting the BJP, Congress media head Pawan Khera alleged that various Chinese companies had donated money to the PM CARES fund, reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi:The Congress on Tuesday defended the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which was banned from receiving foreign funds, saying the NGOs funding was transparent and questioned the Centre over Chinese donations to the PM Cares fund, the Vivekananda Foundation, contracts to Chinese companies and BJP’s contacts with the Chinese Communist Party.

“We have nothing to hide in the funding of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation…it is transparent. But we would like to know why the Chinese embassy has been funding the India Foundation and the Vivekananda Foundation since 2016 and why the BJP partners with the Chinese Communist Party,” Congress media head Pawan Khera said. “The two foundations are run by the son of NSA Ajit Doval,” he said.

The Congress reaction came hours after the treasury and the opposition benches clashed over the recent Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh in Parliament where Union home minister Amit Shah alleged the RGF had received funds from the Chinese embassy.

"If they would have allowed it, I would have given an answer in Parliament that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received a grant of Rs 1.35 crore from the Chinese embassy during 2005-06 and 2006-07, which was not appropriate as per the FCRA. So as per the rules, the Home Ministry cancelled its registration,” Shah said.

Targeting the BJP, Khera further alleged that various Chinese companies had donated money to the PM CARES fund. A Chinese company Dong Feng, which was blacklisted by the World Bank, the US and the European Union, had been given a contract to install smart electricity meters in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Further, the government has signed an MoU worth Rs 43,000 cr with a Chinese company in Gujarat’s Dholera, said Khera, urging to explain why all such contracts had been allocated to Chinese firms. He alleged that the BJP had taken help from Chinese companies like UC Web Mobile and Share IT in 2019 for poll purposes.

Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi slammed the Centre over its China policy. "PM Modi’s clean chit to China on June 19, 2020 and misled the nation saying no one had entered our land during the eastern Ladakh LAC violation.

This emboldened the Chinese further and led to the latest incursion in Arunachal Pradesh. BJP leader Tapir Gao had been highlighting Chinese incursions in AP but the government simply ignored it,” said Gogoi. The Congress Lok Sabha member alleged that China was exploiting the weakness of the PM. “When the PM gave a clean chit to the Chinese in 2020, they understood that he only cares about his image.

Hence, they keep violating the LAC. They are building infrastructure like 5G networks and roads there to conduct military exercises there. We must be alert and counter them. The government should tell the nation what it plans to do to defend our borders,” said Gogoi.

He said the statement of defence minister Rajnath Singh on the Arunachal incursion was incomplete and therefore the Congress, which was demanding a detailed discussion over the China policy in Parliament, walked out in protest.

“We are asking these questions because we are concerned over the safety of the nation. Instead of attacking China, the Centre attacks us. Mere banning 59 Chinese apps is nothing when the government has allowed China to benefit in bilateral trade,” Gogoi said.

The Congress alleged that various incursions along the China border showed that Indian foreign policy was failing somewhere. “We do not know who is deciding the foreign policy, foreign minister S Jaishankar, defence minister Rajnath Singh or NSA Ajit Doval. The FM makes some strong statements abroad and thinks the job is done. The PM hides behind his ministers and does not come out to explain what is happening,” said Gogoi.

“In contrast, we have seen how both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regularly brief their citizens over the ongoing war,” he said. The Congress leader said the response of South Asian nations like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan on the latest Chinese incursion in Arunachal shows that India’s allies were doing a balancing act instead of condemning the aggressor.

“What is our South Asia policy? How do we want to relate to the ASEAN needs clarity. Therefore, we want a detailed discussion in Parliament,” he said.