Panel set up to probe Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Indira Gandhi Trust

The Gandhi-family is likely to be in trouble again. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has set up an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate investigations into alleged violation of various laws like money laundering and foreign contributions by three Nehru-Gandhi family linked trusts, including the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation(RGF)

The committee, headed by the special director of the Enforcement Directorate, will also oversee the probe into the alleged violations by the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust and Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.

The move comes days after BJP chief JP Nadda questioned a purported donation of $300, 00 that the RGF had received from People’s Republic of China and the Chinese embassy in 2005-06 to carry out studies that were not in the national interest. Targeting the Congress party and the Gandhi family, Nadda alleged that funds from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund were diverted to the “family-run” RGF during the UPA regime.

The RGF annual report for 2005-06 mentions the Embassy of The People’s Republic of China as one of the partner organizations and donors. Among the many donors for RGICS is Government of People’s Republic of China, European Commission, Government of Ireland and United Nations Development Programme.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of RGF and the trustees include former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and P Chidambaram besides Suman Dubey are trustee cum executive committee members.