AAP claims conspiracy after ED says it got illegal foreign funds
New Delhi/IBNS: Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is under massive scrutiny over Arvind Kejriwal's arrest and assault allegations by Swati Maliwal against CM's aide, is on the defensive stance yet again after the Enforcement Directorate alleged the party received Rs. 7 crore from donors in Canada, the United States, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia between 2014 and 2022.
A furious AAP leader Atishi hit back at the claim Monday evening, declaring herself "very angry" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the BJP - which she said is "clearly losing all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Punjab - of orchestrating political attacks via the federal agency.
"After the failure of the liquor scam and the Swati Maliwal case, now the BJP has brought this case (back)... this clear shows BJP is losing the twenty seats of Delhi and Punjab. (But) all this is not going to work. This is not the ED's action... but the BJP. I know I am very angry with Modi," Atishi said.
The Delhi Minister pointed out that the allegations against her party stems from a case that is 11 years old, and one to which "all answers have been given to ED, Central Bureau of Investigation, Home Ministry, and Election Commission".
"This is a conspiracy by Modi to defame AAP," Atishi raged.
"BJP does this before every election... many such false allegations will be made over the next four days (before Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats vote, all of which were won by the BJP last time)," she said.
Earlier in the day, ED sources told NDTV the AAP's receipt of foreign funds between 2014 and 2022 violated provisions of the FCRA, or Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The law says parties cannot take foreign funds.
According to the agency, many of the donors recorded identical passports, credit cards, and mobile phone numbers, as well as e-mail IDs.
A confidential report to the Home Ministry, which has been leaked, indicates that 155 people living abroad donated ₹ 1.02 crore on 404 occasions.
The ED has claimed each donation is linked to one of only 55 passports, and that the AAP, to avoid restrictions, hid donor identities and routed the funds directly into an account with IDBI Bank Ltd.
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