Centre cancels FCRA licence of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and charitable trust

The Centre has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) over alleged irregularities. Both are non-government organisations associated with the Gandhi family.

The move came after an inter-ministerial committee formed by the Home Ministry in 2020 to probe these alleged irregularities came up with its findings. The committee comprised officials from the Home and Finance ministries, the CBI, and ED. It investigated alleged manipulation of documents by the two NGOs while filing income-tax returns, misuse of funds, and money laundering while receiving funds from foreign countries, including China.

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According to official sources, the CBI is now likely to investigate the alleged irregularities in RGF and RGCT. “Yes, the FCRA license of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been cancelled after an investigation against it,” agencies quoted an official in the know as saying.

About the two NGOs

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi heads both the RGF and the RGCT. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and former Union minister P Chidambaram are members of the RGF. Rahul and former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Ashok S Ganguly are members, among others, of the RGCT.

Set up in 1991, RGF worked from 1991 to 2009 on several critical issues, including health, education, science and technology, women and children, disability support, etc, according to its website.

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The RGCT was established in 2002 to address the development needs of the underprivileged people of the country, especially the rural poor. According to the RGCT website, it currently works in the poorest regions of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana through two development initiatives—the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) and the Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital and Research Centre (IGEHRC).

Both the RGF and the RGCT function from Jawahar Bhawan on Rajendra Prasad Road, near the Parliament complex in New Delhi. Another organisation that was also investigated was the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. However, no action has so far been taken against it.

What started the probe?

In 2020, BJP President JP Nadda alleged that China gave funds to the RGF between 2005 and 2009 to carry out studies that were not in national interest. His allegation came amid the Indian and Chinese armies’ face-off in Ladakh.

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The BJP had asked whether the funds were a “bribe” for lobbying for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and China. According to the RGF’s annual report of 2005–06 available on its website, the Chinese embassy is listed as one of its donors under “partner organisations and donors.”

Nadda had also alleged that money from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund was diverted to the RGF and that it also received funds from fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi.

(With agency inputs)