BJP raises China funds to Cong
NEW DELHI: Questioning the link between China and the Congress, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday alleged that both the Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in India contributed to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) — a trust chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi — with former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and P Chidambaram as trustees.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, also alleged that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had pushed for a free trade agreement between the two countries, leading to a huge trade deficit skewed in favour of China, and that the donation led to the Congress supporting China.
Congress, in turn, said the BJP was engaging in diversionary tactics, questioned it on visits and exchanges between the BJP and the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the past decade, alleged that PM Modi shared a “strange bonhomie” with China even as borders were insecure, and claimed that questioning the patriotism of the Congress was “outrageous”.
The political war of words between the two parties on the national security intensified with the Bharatiya Janata Party alleging that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation ’s annual report for 2005-06 showed it received donation from the embassy of the People’s Republic of China and was listed as a donor. “They (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi) are attacking the Narendra Modi government and supporting China because of these donations to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation,” Prasad said. “The document clearly shows the embassy as a donor.”
“The Congress should explain why such affection for China? There is a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act that says any political party or organisation cannot accept foreign funds, and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was an extension of the Congress party. Did they take permission before taking money? Did they inform the government why they had taken the money?” he asked.
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s social media team, tweeted: “Not just the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in India but even the government of People’s Republic of China is a donor to the Rajiv Gandhi foundation.”
Addressing a virtual rally in Madhya Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda said during the 2017 Doklam standoff, Rahul Gandhi was secretly holding talks with China’s ambassador to India in Delhi. “Today, during Galwan Valley clash also Congress is misleading the country,” Nadda said.
The Congress, in turn, alleged that PM Modi shared a “strange bonhomie” with China, though India had not benefitted from it.
At a virtual press conference, party spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged, “There is a strange kind of bonhomie between Narendra Modi and China, a two-decade-old bonhomie. Why doesn’t the country get the benefit of that bonhomie? Whatever is happening on the border today, is it despite the bonhomie which you have with China, or is it because of the bonhomie which you have with China?”
Congress also sought an explanation for exchanges between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of China .
THE BJP ALLEGED THAT RGF HAD PUSHED FOR A FREE TRADE DEAL BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, LEADING TO A HUGE DEFICIT SKEWED IN FAVOUR OF CHINA