Probing source of foreign funding to AAP: Shinde

The source of foreign funding to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was being probed by the government, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said today. Shinde said the government had received complaints against AAP for violating the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA).

 

“We have got information that AAP is receiving funds in violation of the FCRA Act,” Shinde told reporters in the Capital today. The FCRA regulates the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution, to prohibit it from being used in ways that are detrimental to the national interest.

 

A spokesperson of AAP said the party welcomed any probe by the government. However, he added that the government was targeting AAP, as it anticipated to lose the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi.

 

“These are baseless accusations,” Pankaj Gupta, national secretary of AAP told Business Standard. Gupta said though the law on foreign contribution was unclear, AAP had maintained details of each contributor for the government to verify.

 

The AAP, which is contesting the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi, has received around Rs 19-crore in donations. Though, majority of it has been contributed from India, it has received around 30 % of its total donation from abroad. Of this, the highest has been contributed from United States (10 %), followed by Hong Kong (6 %) and United Arab Emirates (3 %).