New Delhi: Five days to go for Delhi polls, allegations today flew thick and fast with BJP and a break-away group of AAP accusing the Arvind Kejriwal-led party of receiving Rs 2 crore last year through four “dubious” companies, a charge strongly rejected by the party. AAP even dared the central government to initiate a probe and take any action it deemed fit.
It all started with Karan Singh and Gopal Goel of AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM) alleging that four donations of Rs 50 lakh each were remitted to the account of AAP from four different “dubious companies” on the midnight of April 15 last year.
“All the four donations hit AAP website on exactly the same date and time around midnight. Later I found they do not have net worth or profits for donating Rs 50 lakh each,” Goel claimed. However, AAP claimed that Karan Singh was sacked from the party last year for anti-party activities.
Latching on to AVAM's allegations, BJP mounted a stinging attack on AAP, claiming its funding was dubious and accused the party of indulging in money laundering and pumping in black money.
“The party has been talking a lot about transparency in political funding. The revelations show how this party used illegal and wrong route and indulged in money laundering through hawala and pumped in money into AAP's political funding,” Union minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal said.
Claiming that the funding was against the provisions of law, he said the four companies cannot fund political parties as only those with three years of profits can donate a part of their profits to political parties.
Asked if government will initiate a probe into the allegations, Goyal said, “The law will take its own course.” The AAP called it a conspiracy to tarnish its image and challenged the government to get the matter investigated by any of its agencies.
Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also alleged that AAP has devised a mechanism for routing money from foreign companies which cannot donate to Indian political parties according to law.
“This is in violation of the law. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act stops foreign companies from donating to political parties in India,” she said.
“Today AAP stands exposed for encouraging a facade of mechanisms through which they were receiving money from unauthorised sources,” the minister said, adding, “We allege these companies are AAPs factories.”
“These are shell companies which you have created for running these nefarious activities,” she said.
Kejriwal said the party was transparent and it had put up all the details on its website. The party does not know where the donor companies have got their money.
“We've taken all donations by cheque... We have a BJP government (at the Centre). Let it investigate. Please punish me if anything wrong is found,” he said when asked about the allegations.
“This is a conspiracy. We invite the government to order an investigation before the February 7 polls itself by any of its agencies be it CBI, ED, IB, police, army and subsequently arrest us if we have done anything wrong,” senior party leader Yogendra Yadav told a press conference.
He said the AAP has taken all its donations through cheques to ensure transparency and also insists on PAN card details for the transactions.
BJP leader and former AAP member Shazia Ilmi took a dig at AAP terming the transactions as “hawala at midnight” and said this is only “a tip of the iceberg”.
“They talk about an internal Lokpal. But no one worries of checking donations of Rs 2 crore. Kejriwal is hiding behind a false image of honesty and trying to fool people,” she said.
