New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response from the central government on two petitions filed by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. On both these petitions, a notice has also been issued by the court to the Modi government at the Centre. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust have challenged the cancellation of their Foreign Contribution Act (FCRA) license by the Central Government. Justice Jyoti Singh has issued a notice to the Central Government seeking answers on both the petitions. The final hearing in this matter will be held on 23 August.
Both organizations are related to Gandhi family
According to the report of the news agency ANI, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust are associated with the Gandhi family. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is the head of both these organizations and Rahul Gandhi is its member. In addition, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram are members of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The FCRA licenses of both these organizations have been canceled by the Modi government at the Center on the charges of allegedly violating the rules.
Investigation was done after BJP’s allegation
It is being told that the licenses have been canceled after an inquiry by an inter-ministerial committee. It is also being told that after the allegations were made by the BJP, the investigation was started by the Inter-Ministerial Committee. The BJP had alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust had received funds from the Chinese embassy. The report states that following the allegations made by the BJP, the central government constituted a committee to probe the alleged violations of rules under various laws such as the PMLA, FCRA and the IT Act.
MHA takes action on Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, alleges misappropriation of foreign funding, FCRA license canceled
The petition was filed in January 2023
The report states that a petition was filed in the Delhi High Court in January 2023 against the cancellation of the FCRA license by the central government. The matter is being postponed for one reason or the other. The bench also expressed displeasure that it has held eight hearings to issue notice on the petition. The matter was also raised on Thursday. Although the central government’s counsel asked for a passover, the bench said it would issue notice in the matter.
