MHA Cancels FCRA License Of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

Amidst an ongoing probe regarding the money being taken from China, the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) licence of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) has been cancelled by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),.

NEW DELHI | Updated: 23 October, 2022 4:49 pm IST

RGF is an NGO which works in the sectors of education, health, science and technology, and women's and children's disability

Amidst an ongoing probe regarding the money being taken from China, the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) licence of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) has been cancelled by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), sources said on Sunday.

The licence allowed the NGO to take funds from foreign countries and organisations for its operation. In this case, it was alleged that RGF had taken over $3,00,000 from the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in 2005 and 2006.

RGF is an NGO which works in the sectors of education, health, science and technology, and women’s and children’s disability. The organisation was set up in 1991.

A source from the MHA told The New Indian about the cancellation of the licence. A written notice has also been served to the NGO and its office bearers.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the RGF. The other trustees are former Prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Finance minister P Chidambaram, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

In 2020, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda demanded an inquiry into the matter. He had said Congress had committed corruption in the name of getting funds to carry out studies and promote free trade in the country.

The MHA, in July 2020, set up an inter-ministerial committee to probe the funding from China and other countries. The committee comprised officers from MHA, the union finance ministry, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The two other organisations run by the Gandhi family – Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) and Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT) – were also scanned by the committee, said sources.

The probe was started against the backdrop of tension prevailing at the LAC (Line of Actual Control) between India and China. The Congress has levelled charges of failure against the BJP-ruled central government in dealing with the border dispute.