AAP demands political funding to be under RTI

Calling the allegations by its breakaway group Aam Aadmi Volunteer Action Munch (AVAM) as a conspiracy in which they sniff a connection of the BJP, the party's leaders like Yogendra Yadav and Kumar Viswas  said: "We are the party which say political funding should also be under RTI."

"The two parties- BJP and Congress- kept it out of RTI," said AAP leaders in a press conference here.

"Bring political funding under RTI," its leaders said.

AAP said theirs is only party with funding all  digitized.

AAP said: "We are writing a letter to Chief Justice of India requesting him to set up an SIT and monitor the probe. BJP is rattled as they know that they are losing the elections.
We are confident we will come out clean from any probe and we will emerge victorious in the Feb 7 election."

"The AAP funding has already been probed twice by successive central governments, both the UPA and now the NDA government and the respective governments made submission in the Delhi High Court that AAP funding is legitimate and there is no discrepancy," it said.

AAP architect and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in the morning: "5 AAP leaders will go to SC today at 10.30 am to submit an application for an SIT probe into funding of BJP, Cong n AAP." Later reports said they would move court later in the day.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal told NDTV on the money from the four alleged dubious companies: "Does hawala money move through cheques? Would we have posted the details of these donations on our website if we were guilty of wrongdoing?"  "We will return the money if a court orders this," he said.

AAP earlier called allegations against them as 'malicious and false propaganda'.

AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said black money in elections and politics is a serious issue and it should be probed.

AAP earlier also called the campaign against them as the handiwork of BJP's dirty tricks department.

"The BJP and some mysterious fronts created by it close to Delhi assembly elections have unleashed a malicious and false propaganda on the funding of the Aam Aadmi Party," the AAP said in a statement.

The AAP also challenged the BJP-led NDA central government to probe its funding from any of the agencies.

The AAP has been accused by some former members of collecting funds from companies which are fake, even as the BJP was quick to take up the allegation to attack AAP for trying to project itself as the only clean outfit in politics.

The Aam Aadmi Volunteer Action Munch (AVAM), comprising former party members, on Monday in a media briefing alleged that the AAP got funds worth Rs 2 crore from companies which were only trying to evade tax.

AVAM member Gopal Goyal said the company in question has not earned a single rupee and yet funded AAP.

Four transaction IDs of Rs 50 lakh each were also mentioned by AVAM.

They said the director  of the company lives in run down house and yet is the so called director of 11 companies.

BJP leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal on the other hand in a press meet said the AAP has been labelling all as corrupt while it itself was mired in such donations.

AAP earlier had said that it has received  Rs 1.25 crore as donation during a  fund raising event  recently.

AAP claims that all AAP donations are transparently published on the website and AAP is the only party that has voluntarily agreed to come under the RTI law. With has almost raised Rs 30 crore for Delhi elections.