A day after the BJP alleged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of having lack of transparency in collecting funds through their recent fundraising event, the party has challenged the BJP to reveal their list of donors.
Besides, the party has also posed five questions to the BJP regarding donations from foreign sources and companies involved in the black money issue. Meanwhile, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday that his party will file a criminal defamation case against the BJP which has alleged that the AAP was diverting funds from NGOs of its leaders.
“I have been challenging the BJP and the Congress to disclose their list of donors (the way we do). Would media give similar coverage to usIJ For the first time, a political party (is) trying transparent funding and disclosing its list of donors. BJP trying to terrorise our donors. FairIJ” posted Kejriwal on Twitter.
Senior party leader Yogendra Yadav said, “The BJP has levelled certain baseless and defamatory allegations about the lack of transparency in funds collection by the AAP. The BJP has also alleged that we have not disclosed the names of donors. We challenge the BJP to prove its motivated and uninformed allegations. We are the only political party in India whose entire donations are in public domain and every penny collected is reflected on the party website.”
The party said that the BJP “should be the last ones to question their source of donations when 75 per cent of their own donations come from hidden sources”. Yadav said, “We are ready for a probe by any agency on its funding, which has already been probed by the previous UPA Government’s Home Ministry.”
The party on Tuesday also challenged the BJP to answer questions related to its funding. “Is it not a fact that on March 29 this year, the Delhi High Court found the BJP guilty of receiving foreign funds in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation ActIJ Is it not a fact that the BJP has accepted donations of Rs 1.18 crore from the owner of Goa-based Timblo Pvt ltd, Radha Timblo, who was recently named by the Central Government in its list of black money account holders abroadIJ Is it not a fact that the BJP accepted donations from Dow Chemicals, the company which has refused to pay compensation to the families of Bhopal gas tragedy victimsIJ Similarly, isn’t it true that the BJP received Rs 19,42,50,000 as foreign funds between 2004 and 2012IJ If all these things are true, on what moral ground is the party questioning us,” said Yadav.