AAP accuses Modi govt of witch hunting; BJP says AAP tampered fund figures

The MHA asked AAP to provide information on overseas funding it has received

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday cried foul over the Union Home Ministry issuing a notice to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led party asking it to provide information on overseas funding it has received.

Accusing the Centre of 'witch hunting', AAP leader Ashutosh said that the Union Government is practising political vendetta.

"This is nothing but witch hunting, this is a political vendetta. The Home Ministry once under Manmohan Singh and the other time under Narendra Modi has already conducted an investigation and submitted the report of the same to the Delhi High Court citing that nothing has been found wrong in the funding of the AAP," Ashutosh said.

"This is nothing but political vendetta. I will say that with whichever agency they want to appoint to investigate the matter they can, I know they will able to find nothing," he added.

However, on the paradox, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the AAP had deleted information regarding its foreign funding from its website and is hiding facts from the income tax department and the government.

BJP leader RP Singh said AAP, which made tall promises of working with transparency, should give the details of its foreign funds to the government while adding that if the party has not done any wrong then it should not fear from any sort of investigation.

"This is long pending and this is the case which is on with them that they have to give the details of the foreign funding which has been coming to them under FCRA, they have purposely removed all the details from their website, all though they have claimed that they are very transparent party," said Singh.

"Nobody has given them a clean chit and witch hunting and if they claim that they have done nothing wrong then they must not fear of anything. There are details which the AAP has hidden from the income tax department and the government," he added.

Triggering yet another AAP vs Centre face-off, the MHA had on Friday sent a notice to AAP, asking it to provide information in connection with its overseas funding.

The Home Ministry in its notice has asked AAP to disclose the source, nature and the amount of donation as well as the foreign equity in the shareholding pattern of the corporation, company or source from where the donation is received.