Fadnavis Orders Probe into 'Foreign Funding' Allegations for Rahul Gandhi's Pune Event
Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the Congress was offering students between Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000 to attend the programme.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday ordered an investigation into allegations of foreign funding linked to the Congress’ mobilisation of students for party leader Rahul Gandhi’s programme in Pune.
Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the Congress was offering students between Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000 to attend the programme. He claimed that mobilising around 3,000 people could involve expenditure of Rs 9-10 crore and demanded that the Congress clarify the source of the alleged funds.
Responding to Mr. Ban’s allegations, Mr. Fadnavis told this newspaper in a text message, “The State government will look into Mr. Ban’s allegations.”
Mr. Ban had alleged that the spending on Mr. Gandhi’s programme was so high that it should be called “Paison Ki Goonj”, instead of “Chhatron Ki Goonj”. “Congress’ PPP model is not Public-Private Partnership but ‘Paid Political Programme’,” Mr. Ban said, alleging that the party was attempting to politically “relaunch” Mr. Gandhi through a campaign backed by money.
He also questioned whether the alleged expenditure had any connection with foreign funding. Mr. Ban demanded an inquiry into whether money allegedly generated through contractors’ commissions in States such as Karnataka and Kerala was being diverted to political activities in Maharashtra.
The BJP spokesperson further questioned the role of a person identified as “Shantanu”, whom he alleged was associated with the mobilisation and influencer campaign surrounding the Pune event. He sought a detailed inquiry by the Central government into the alleged mobilisation of funds. “Whether it is black money or money comes from the contractors… If necessary, the government should set up an SIT or ask the CBI to investigate the alleged flow of funds and also probe whether foreign funds were used for the Pune event,” he said.
Mr. Ban also demanded scrutiny of the alleged financial transactions of influencers involved in the programme and sought clarity on whether payments were being made in cash or through banking channels.
Mr. Gandhi is scheduled to address the “Chhatron Ki Goonj” event, dedicated to female students, in Pune on Saturday evening.
Mr. Fadnavis, a senior BJP leader, also attacked the programme, describing it as an exercise aimed at “relaunching” Mr. Gandhi rather than a platform for students. He alleged that the programme was an “event management exercise” and claimed that 90 per cent of the students attending it had been brought from educational institutions managed by Congress leaders.
The chief minister also alleged that the Congress had “misused” a female student to make the programme a success and reiterated that students and social media influencers were being paid to attend the event.
Mr. Fadnavis further alleged that Congress leaders and office-bearers deliberately created a scuffle and ruckus on the campus of the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) on Friday night. Comparing the episode to the practice of creating controversies to generate publicity for films, Mr. Fadnavis alleged that a similar controversy had been deliberately created on the college campus to ensure the success of Mr. Gandhi’s programme.