New Delhi: Congress party reacted strongly on the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) matter and hit back at Bhartiya Janta Party, by raising questions over the foreign donations made to Vivekanand Foundation, India Foundation and even RSS.
The INC said that the donations made to RGF are not even a fraction of the donations given to BJP's institutions. The statement comes soon after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) set up a panel to coordinate tax violation and money laundering investigations against three Gandhi family trusts including Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
Addressing the media, Congress senior spokesperson and MP, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has nothing to add, nothing to clear because you can ask every question and we are here as law-abiding persons to answer. But you ask these questions to many holy cows. You are harassing each opposition segment, individual or institution."
Read: BJP's JP Nadda attacks Cong over Rajiv Gandhi Foundation's links with China
"These lovely questions like 9th Schedule exemptions don't get asked on Vivekanand Foundation, Overseas Friends of BJP foundation, India Foundation. These questions don't get asked on larger quantum money from the RSS. Whose special arc of protection they enjoy?" he asked.
Earlier as well, Congress party's Chief Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala raised similar questions about these institutions while asking the government to make public the list of all its donors and the amounts received from all foreign sources.
Read: Congress slams BJP on RGF matter, asks "Will they declare name of its donors?"
While clarifying on the part of RGF, Singhvi mentioned that every time Government raises questions over it, "truckloads of tax papers" have been provided to them. He also assured that RGF will continue with its NGO work without "counting down" to Center's pressure.
After the Central Government's order of a probe into transactions of trusts linked to Nehru-Gandhi family, BJP claimed that the government would not have waited for six years if politics was behind the probe into RGF transactions.
Read: MHA sets up team to coordinate probe against Gandhi family-linked trusts
Taking a jibe at the ruling party, the Congress MP said, "No questions being asked to Vivekanand Foundation, RSS and Indian Foundation. Is there any level playing field in this country? Or to attain that we need to get membership in BJP? Or a 'Bhakt' Badge is required?"
Another leader of the opposition party, Manish Tewari termed the decision as "illegal". He tweeted, "Rather than fighting China, COVID-19 and revive the economy all the Government wants to do is fight the Congress. The illegal, arbitrary, and Malafide action against RGF and other organizations is yet another example of how low they will go."
Jaiveer Shergill, Congress spokesperson, also reacted over the matter, saying, "Probe against Rajiv Gandhi Foundation will not stop Congress from exposing BJP failure in national security and foreign policy which resulted in India losing its 20 braves sons BJP caught red-handed please in China and desperately trying to escape and answerability by probing RGF."
