New Delhi: The BJP on Friday continued with its attacks against Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi on the issue of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) receiving donations from the Chinese Embassy here, as ruling party president JP Nadda accused her of diverting the money of the citizens during the UPA rule into a family run foundation.
Nadda said it was not only brazen fraud, but a big betrayal to the citizens of the country. While targeting Sonia Gandhi, he said one family’s hunger for wealth has cost this nation immensely and demanded Congress’ imperial dynasty to apologise.
“The PMNRF (Prime Minister National Relief Fund), meant to help people in distress, was donating money to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF (Rajiv Gandhi Foundation)? Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency,” Nadda said in a series of tweets.
He said, “People of India donated their hard earned money to the PMNRF to help their fellow citizens in need. To divert this public money into a family run foundation is not only a brazen fraud, but also a big betrayal of the people of India.”
While attacking the Gandhi family, the BJP President said, “One family’s hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards a more constructive agenda. The Congress’ Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains.”
On Thursday, a controversy erupted after a startling revelation that the government of the Peoples Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in India have been funding the RGF led by Sonia Gandhi. She is the Chairperson of the RGF, and its board includes former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others.
According to an RGF annual report, in 2005-06, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received a donation from the government of People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy as two separate donors. These were listed as donors in the report in the list of general donors.
According to some estimates, the donation was to the tune of $2 million between 2004 and 2006 and $9 million between 2006 and 2013.
Now, leap forward to 2009. The Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS) functions as a think-tank and carries extensive and relevant research on contemporary issues.
As per the RGF annual report, in April 2009, RGICS Fellow Mohammad Saqib carried out a feasibility study, ‘India-China: Free Trade Agreement (FTA)’, in association with Purnachandra Rao.
The main objective of the study was to gain a better understanding of an FTA between India and China, analyse various trade issues and identify who would stand to gain and lose from such an agreement. The report concluded that China would be the greater beneficiary in all trade dimensions because of the efficiency of its economy.
“There is a principal need for India to improve its commodity structure to balance its performance of competitiveness and complementarities,” the study said.
“Therefore both governments should decide to enter into FTA negotiations. The proposed FTA between India and China will be feasible, desirable and mutually beneficial. An FTA between India and China should also be comprehensive, with a free flow of goods, services, investments and capital,” said the study advocating an FTA between India and China, which will be beneficial to both the countries.
Congress critics argue that this study was done despite the admission that China was already benefiting much more than India from the imbalanced trade.
Critics of the Congress are asking whether there is some connection between the donation to the RGF, the Congress party think-tank lobbying for an FTA with China, and allowing the trade deficit to jump 33 times between 2003-04 and 2013-14.
In addition, questions are being posed if this donation to RGF has any connection with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Congress and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2008.
Critics point out that curiously, India’s trade deficit with China starts to balloon thereafter. Overall trade deficit with China increased 33 times, i.e., from $1.1 billion in 2003-04 to $36.2 billion in 2013-14, under the UPA.
Also, the Congress government while in power was doling out largesse to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister in 1991 allocated Rs 100 crore over 5 years.
The disclosures came to light as the RGF came under scrutiny following an expose that the Government of China and China Embassy were donors to the Foundation.
This is an instance of Congress government patronage for RGF paid out of taxpayers money.
The Budget Speech of 1991-92 by Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance presented on July 24, 1991 has the detail.
“The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been established to perpetuate the memory of the great leader and to promote the ideals and objectives for which he lived and laid down his life,” Singh said.
“This Foundation, among other things, will lay particular emphasis on research and action programmes relating to the application of science and technology for development, propagation of literacy, the protection of the environment, the promotion of communal harmony and national integration, the uplift of the under-privileged, women and handicapped persons, administrative reforms and India’s role in the global economy,” he added.
“As a homage to the late Shri Rajiv Gandhi and in support of the laudable objectives of the Foundation, Government has decided to contribute Rs 100 crore to the Foundation at the rate of Rs 20 crores per annum for a period of five years beginning from the current year,” the then Finance Minister said in the Budget speech.