The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will look into allegations of foreign funding for the newly-formed political outfit Aam Admi Party (AAP), even as its leader Arvind Kejriwal prepares to be sworn in as the Delhi Chief Minister on Saturday.
Last month, the MHA had sent its queries to the AAP, amid accusations that it violated Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, and the AAP had submitted its replies.
“We need further interaction with AAP [leaders] as we need some clarification on their replies…We will inspect their books of accounts,” a senior MHA official said.
The controversy erupted last month after Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the MHA would order a probe into AAP’s alleged illegal foreign funding. The party said it had collected about Rs.19 crore till November 8 as donations from 63,000 people, including a host of NRIs, in a wholly legal manner. It claimed to have received monetary contributions from a wide spectrum of people ranging from rickshaw-pullers and labourers to industrialists and entrepreneurs.
“We ordered the inquiry after the Delhi High Court took note of the matter and passed instructions,” Mr. Shinde had told journalists. “The Foreigners Division [of the Ministry of Home Affairs] has sent a detailed questionnaire [on the funding issue] to the AAP under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act…We are waiting for their reply.”
