The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Tuesday found themselves on the same side of the fence while charging the Aam Aadmi Party with receiving donations from “bogus companies and indulging in money-laundering.”
The charge made by a voluntary break-away group of the AAP was strongly rejected by the AAP, which said it was “a conspiracy” and challenged the Centre to order a probe by any investigation agency, including the CBI.
The breakaway group — AAP Volunteer Action Group — accused the AAP of having received at midnight of April 5 last year, Rs. 2 crore through four “dubious” companies. The BJP said the money trail of the donations received by the AAP raised questions relating to transparency and accountability.
“How have companies which made no profits/remained dormant contributed substantial sums to the AAP? Why have these companies donated same amount at the same time? Were these shell companies used for money-laundering,’’ asked Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman.
Asked whether donation to all political parties was in “white and accounted for,” Mr. Goyal said “yes.”
Demanding an explanation from the AAP, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi wanted to know how the companies, whose net worth was less than Rs. 50 lakh, could afford to make such hefty donations.
Terming the charges as “a conspiracy,” AAP leader and spokesman Yogendra Yadav said the party had taken all donations through cheques to ensure transparency, and also insisted on PAN card details for the transactions.
“We’ve taken all donations by cheque. We have a BJP government (at the Centre). Let it investigate. Please punish me if anything wrong is found,” AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said when asked about the allegations.
