The charity commissioner in Ahmedabad, Gujarat has ordered the freezing of the back account of NGO ‘We The People Charitable Trust’, Times of India has reported. The order comes after MLA Jignesh Mevani was collecting funds in its name. A show cause notice has also been issued to the NGO.
The charity commissioner has pointed out that an NGO already existed under the name ‘We The People Charitable Society’ and demanded to know why action should not be taken against the Trust for registering itself under a name very similar to the one that already existed.
The authority said that similar names lead to confusion and the matter has been with in the Emblems & Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950. Jignesh Mevani had sought funds in the name of the Trust for an oxygen pant and oxygen concentrators.
An enquiry revealed the Mevani is not a trustee of the organisation. A reply has been sought from the Trust on whether Mevani was authorised to make such an appeal but a response has not yet been received, as per the report.
Highlighting the fact that many illegalities have been committed in connection with Remdesivir injections and oxygen cylinders, an inspector has been ordered to investigate the documents, reports and resolutions passed by the Trust.
Jignesh Mevani, meanwhile, has alleged political persecution. “The trustees have not yet received any notice and without granting an opportunity of hearing, the bank account was sought to be frozen,” he was quoted in the report as saying. He added, “There is something fundamentally wrong with the intentions of the authority. The trustees are being targeted because they are helping me.”
Earlier, we had reported how fundraisers by the Hemkunt Foundation, Rana Ayyub and Jignesh Mevani were possibly violating FCRA laws in the country.