Two NGOs run by Sonia Gandhi have their FCRA licences revoked by the Home Ministry.
Two NGOs led by former Congress President Sonia Gandhi had their FCRS licences revoked. The Gandhi family and the organisations they are linked with cannot be exempt from the legislation, according to the BJP, which applauded the action. Congress, on the other hand, asserted that this decision was conducted for political purposes.
The Home Ministry’s decision to revoke the FCRA licences of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) for alleged legal violations, according to BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, has revealed their corruption.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also revoked the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust’s FCRA licence in addition to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The BJP claimed in 2020 that the foundation had received money from the People’s Republic of China Embassy. The Ministry of Home Affairs then established a committee to look into the situation.
In order to address the development needs of the nation’s underprivileged groups, particularly the rural poor, RGCT was founded in 2002.
Investigators looked into claims of money laundering while receiving funds from abroad, notably China, falsifying documents while filing income tax returns, and misappropriating funds.
A committee was established by the central government in July 2020 to look into suspected infractions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Income Tax Act, and FCRA.
In addition to these two organisations, an investigation was also opened against the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, but nothing has been done to date to penalise them.
After the MHA established an inter-ministerial committee in July 2020 to look into alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Income Tax Act, and FCRA, the NGOs came under scrutiny. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust was another entity that received criticism. The third organisation, meanwhile, has not yet been the target of any legal action.
The investigation team, which included representatives from the ministries of home and finance and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was tasked with determining whether the Gandhi family and other Congress leaders were actually running these trusts while filing income tax returns. allegedly falsified documents, misappropriated, and laundered cash obtained from abroad.
The money was allegedly provided to RGF as a “bribe” to campaign for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and India, according to the BJP.
Let us inform you that the Chinese Embassy is listed as a “collaborative organisation and donor” in the RGF’s annual report for the years 2005-2006.
In response to these accusations, the Home Ministry established an inquiry group with representatives from the CBI, ED, and Finance Ministry.