BJP questions source of funds for Rahul's trips; Congress hits back

NEW DELHI: BJP Thursday questioned the source of funds for Rahul Gandhi's 54 trips abroad over last 22 years, claiming a "big mismatch" between expenditure the LoP is likely to have incurred and his income over past decade, as declared in documents he had submitted for contesting LS polls.

BJP said it has done a "bottom-up estimation" to arrive at the sum of Rs 60 crore that Rahul and people accompanying him would have spent during his visits to different parts of the world, including US, Latin America, Europe and countries in Asia all these years. In contrast, his income was only Rs 11 crore over last decade, it added.

"This raises legal questions. Under FCRA provisions, any MP, judge or govt official is required to take permission from MHA if their visits are hosted or funded by a foreign agency," party spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

"If one is going on a foreign tour at personal expense, then he has to disclose it in I-T return. If a person receives a gift or money is spent on him in an undisclosed manner abroad, then in that situation Black Money Act 2015 may also apply," he added, asking Congress to disclose the source of funding for Rahul's visits and relevant documents.

"This is not a rhetorical press conference but one that raises questions on the conduct of LoP who wants to be PM. Everything will have to be accounted for," Patra said.

Hitting back, Congress said BJP's allegations over Rahul's foreign trips are aimed at diverting attention from real issues facing the country. Party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, "These are diversions being created by BJP. The real issue is the economic collapse that is staring the country. The real issues are the setbacks in foreign policy."

Another neta, Manickam Tagore, said, "BJP should answer questions on unemployment, inflation, border failures and weakening economy instead of running a smear campaign against Rahul."