On Monday, BJP accused Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) of taking donations from fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, Zakir Naik, Yes Bank's Rana Kapoor and Jignesh Shah.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra during a press conference alleged the Foundation of taking money. "The donations to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was no co-incidence, but a conspiracy. The first revelation is on Mehul Choksi, who had donated to the RGF, who was involved in the Punjab National Bank fraud case," Sambit Patra said.
Patra claimed that Naviraj Estate Pvt Ltd, a paper manufacturing company, showed no business activity in their accounts in 2012-13 and 2013-14. "Rs 47.48 crore was received by this company in one chunk and Rs 24.45 lakh was received from Gitanjali Infratech Pvt Ltd. Gitanjali Infratech is owned by Mehul Choksi and Naviraj Estate Pvt Ltd is owned by Rohan Choksi. Naviraj, then, donated it to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation," Patra said.
He also claimed that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received an amount of Rs 9.45 lakh from Yes Bank. "The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received an amount of Rs 9.45 lakh from Yes Bank. This wasn't Rana Kapoor's money, but money was diverted from Yes Bank to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation," Patra said.
Patra alleged that RGF also received donation from Jignesh Shah. "Jignesh Shah is the third person, infamous for NSEL scam. A case is going on in the NSEL in PMLA. FTIL donated Rs 50 lakh to the RGF on 27 October 2011. The proceeds of crime of Jignesh Shah and FTIL is Rs 5,600 crores, a major chunk of which has been given to the RGF," he said.
Patra further alleged that RGF received Rs 50 lakh from Zakir Naik in 2011. "The Islamic Research Foundation of Zakir Naik is also under investigation. On 8 July 2011, the foundation gave Rs 50 lakh to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The donation was done from a DCB bank account. This account is seized under PMLA," Parta alleged.
Earlier, BJP chief JP Nadda had alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation headed by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi had received funds from China. “PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency,” he had tweeted.
