More than a year after it was announced on Twitter that an inter-ministerial committee has been constituted to probe violations of various legal provisions by NGOs linked to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) ) has recently renewed FCRA registration. of two of them.
The ministry declined to provide any information about the findings under the Right to Information Act (RTI) or the composition of the committee, saying “such explanations do not come within the purview of the RTI Act, 2005.”
2020 announcement
On July 8, 2020, the MHA on its Twitter handle @pibhomeffairs had announced that there is an Inter-Ministerial Committee to coordinate investigations into violation of various legal provisions of PMLA. [Prevention of Money Laundering Act], Income Tax Act, FCRA, [Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act]Aadi has been established by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) and Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
The announcement coincides with the height of tensions along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in 2020, after 20 soldiers were killed in clashes with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on June 15. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had intensified his attack on the government, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering to China. The ruling BJP then accused two NGOs affiliated with the Congress of receiving foreign funds from the Chinese government in 2005–06, and an inquiry committee was set up soon thereafter.
Both RGF and RGCT are registered FCRA associations, which is a pre-requisite for NGOs and other associations to receive foreign donations. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of RGF and RGCT. The registration has been renewed and is now valid till 2026. Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust is not registered under FCRA.
Information Denied
Hindu An RTI was filed with the MHA to know the composition and terms of reference of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, the number of meetings held so far and the findings of the report submitted, if any.
In response to the RTI submitted after two months, FCRA Director BC Joshi said: “It is informed that, you have sought clarification instead of seeking information as defined under section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005. As such Explanations do not come under the purview of the RTI Act, 2005. This is to inform that the CPIO is not required to furnish information which requires inference and/or making assumptions or interpreting the information.
As on December 31, the FCRA registration of around 6,000 NGOs was terminated because they did not apply for renewal or did not fulfill the eligibility conditions. FCRA registration is valid for five years and in 2020-21 more than 18,000 NGOs came up for renewal. The registration of 30 more NGOs closed on Monday. So far there are 16,876 registered NGOs, out of which 22,762 were active as on 31st December.
Both RGCT and RGF registered in Delhi had filed annual returns for the financial year 2020-21 on December 29 and December 30, respectively. The return shows that NGOs did not receive any foreign donations in FY 2020-21, but the account balance was ₹11.5 crore for RGCT and ₹13.5 crore for RGF.
In 2015, the MHA amended the FCRA rules to include an additional column in the annual return asking “Whether any office bearer of the association has been prosecuted or convicted under the law of the land?”
In its entry under this head, the RGF had said that since 2013 there was not a single private criminal complaint pending against the trustees Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Suman Dubey. It said that “proceedings on 482 petitions filed by the complainant in the High Court have been stayed. There is no conviction.” It also mentioned that there are nine criminal defamation cases pending against Rahul Gandhi and none Conviction has not been established. “Two criminal cases are pending against Trustee P Chidambaram where chargesheet has been filed. There is no conviction,” it said.
RGCT, a registered, non-profit organization, was established in 2002. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the trust and Rahul Gandhi is a member of the board. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest foreign donors to the NGO, which is located at Jawahar Bhawan on Rajendra Prasad Road, a prime location in Delhi.
RGF was established in 1991. Ms. Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson and the Board of Trustees includes Dr. Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Suman Dubey, Rahul Gandhi, Dr. Ashok Ganguly and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. It is also located in Jawahar Bhawan.
The BJP has alleged that major government assets were allotted to Congress’ NGOs on “permanent lease”.
Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust was established in 1985. The Trust operates from 1, Akbar Road and also manages the museum set up in the memory of the former PM.
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