Not just PMNRF, 7 ministries and govt depts, including MHA and 11 PSUs ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from 2005 to 2013

With the Congress party facing criticism over their stand post the Galwan standoff between India and China, many startling revelations came to the fore yesterday that only intensified the questions. OpIndia reported how the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received donations from not just the Embassy of China but also the Government of China not once but at least thrice between 2005 and 2009. 

One donation amounted to Rs 10 lacs and another one amounted to Rs 90 lacs. Post the report, questions of quid-pro-quo were raised and launching an attack against Congress, BJP had asked whether Congress was soft on China and were making statements that favoured the Communist nation during the Galwan standoff because of the monetary transactions between Congress and China. 

As it turns out, taking monetary donation from the Government of China was not the only problematic element in the Annual Reports of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi and has Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram listed as trustees. As disclosed in the Annual Reports, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received donations from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund not once but thrice.

If the massive impropriety of allocating PMNRF funds to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was not enough, an analysis of the Annual Returns of the Foundation by OpIndia shows that multiple government departments, ministries and Public Sector Undertakings ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation between the years 2005 and 2013.

Following is the list of Ministries and Government departments that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from the year 2005 to 2015. The years that the specific ministries and departments donated to the Foundation have been indicated in brackets.

Government Departments and Ministries that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

1. Ministry of Home Affairs (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
2. Directorate of Adult Education, Ministry of Human Resource (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
3. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
4. Ministry of Environment and Forest (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
5. Ministry of Small Scale Industries (2007-08, 2008-09)
6. National Self Employment Mission, a project by the Ministry of Rural Development (2008-09, 2010-11)
7. Sabla by Ministry of Women and Child Development (2011-12, 2012-13)

Public Sector Undertakings that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

1. LIC (2005-06)
2. SAIL (2005-06)
3. GAIL (India) Limited (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
4. OIL India Limited (2005-06, 2006-07)
5. Oriental Bank of Commerce (2005-06)
6. SBI (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
7. Bank of Maharashtra (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11)
8. Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited HUDCO (2006-07)
9. ONGC (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
10. IDBI Bank (2006-07)
11. Steel Authority of India Ltd (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is a foundation of which the Chairperson is Sonia Gandhi and others like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram sit on the board.

During these donations were being made, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi was the ‘Super PM’. Essentially, it was Sonia Gandhi who made the decisions and acted as the Prime Minister of the country.

That the government which was being run by Sonia Gandhi ‘donated’ public money from these departments and ministries to a privately owned Foundation chaired by her and managed by other members of Congress including her children raises several red flags.