Congress diverted PMNRF funds to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation: BJP chief Nadda

NEW DELHI: Slamming the Congress party for acting like an "imperial dynasty", Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Friday claimed that the party needs to apologise for the "unchecked loot" it did "for self-gains" by diverting PMNRF funds to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
In a series of tweets, Nadda said that "one family’s hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely."

The BJP President said that people donated their hard-earned money to Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) in order to help the citizens in need, however, he alleged that a part of this public money was "diverted" into "a family run foundation", referring to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which is headed by Congress interim-President Sonia Gandhi.

In another tweet, Nadda shared a list of donors which contributed to the RGF in 2005-2006 and 2007-2008. The donor's list also had PMNRF on it. Raising questions over the transparency of the donations being made to the foundation, Nadda called the alleged diversion of funds as "totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes."

Named after the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the foundation was founded in 1991 and has worked "on a number of critical issues, including health, literacy, science and technology, women’s and children’s development, among others", according to its website.
On the other hand, the PMNRF is headed by the Prime Minister of India. The disbursement out of the fund is made at the discretion of the Prime Minister and is earmarked for Prime Minister's schemes and medical assistance, floods, drought, terrorist violence, etc. The PMNRF is audited by an independent auditor outside the government. According to its website, the fund is at present audited by Sarc & Associates, Chartered Accountants and has been audited upto the year 2018-19.