PremiumIn 2020, the donation pattern of RGF was under the political spotlight. BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda had on 25 June alleged that RGF had accepted a donation of $300,000 from China during 2005-06.
The Central government has canceled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF). It is a non-government organization associated with the Gandhi family for alleged violations of the law, said official.
This came after investigations carried out by an inter-ministerial committee formed by the home ministry in 2020. “Yes, the FCRA license of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been canceled after an investigation against it," an official was quoted by PTI.
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of RGF while other trustees include former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
In 2020, the donation pattern of RGF was under the political spotlight. BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda had on 25 June alleged that RGF had accepted a donation of $300,000 from China during 2005-06.
"I was surprised to see that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received a donation of $300,000 from People’s Republic of China and Chinese embassy. These donations were then used to carry out studies and promote free trade in the country. There are many ways of corruption and Congress party should explain what studies were carried out using these donations," Nadda had said.
The investigation came against the backdrop of border troubles with China, on which the BJP and the Congress had accused each other of dereliction of duty.
The BJP had alleged that different organizations associated with the Gandhi family and the Congress had accepted donations from China, while the main Opposition party had repeatedly questioned the Union government’s handling of the border dispute.
The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, set up in 1991, worked on a number of critical issues including health, science, and technology, women and children, disability support, etc., from 1991 to 2009. It also worked in the education sector, according to its website.
(With PTI inputs)