AAP challenges Congress for debate over funding

New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday dismissed allegations made by Congress leader Anand Sharma of discrepancies in its political funding and challenged him to a debate over funding received by the Congress.

Talking to reporters here, AAP national treasurer Raghav Chadha said 100 per cent of AAP's funding comes from Indian citizens and the funding process is completely transparent.

Chadha's remarks came after former Union Minister Anand Sharma alleged AAP was receiving funds from foreign sources.

"The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government gave clean chit to AAP on its funding when Anand Sharma was a central minister. And today, he is raising questions against our funding," Chadha said.

"In May 2014, when the Congress was in power, the central government filed an affidavit in Delhi High Court and said the government investigated allegations against the AAP funding and found nothing wrong," he added.

The AAP leader also said instead, it was the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which were found guilty by the Delhi High Court of accepting "illegal foreign funding".

"When it came to cancellation of their political registrations, both Congress and BJP joined hands in Parliament to change the law with retrospective effect," he said.

Charging Congress of receiving 80 per cent of its funding in cash and from unknown sources, Chadha said 92 per cent of AAP's funding comes from banking channels and even the rest eight percent is deposited in banks.

"I challenge Anand Sharma to choose a place of his liking where he or his party's treasurer should come with Congress' financial records and debate with me on our respective parties' funding," he said.

"It will make clear how much of Congress' funding comes in cash, from foreign sources, in black money and how much of it is clean," he added.