M A I N   N E W S

‘NCP activists’ attack AAP office in Mumbai
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, February 22
Suspected activists of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) attacked the Mumbai office of the Aam Aadmi Party office at Chakala in suburban Andheri this afternoon. AAP said around 25 persons claiming to be workers of the NCP shouted slogans in favour of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and damaged furniture.

"They burnt a poster of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and threw black ink all over the office and burnt banners and posters," AAP leader Suresh Acharya said.

Timely intervention by the police prevented any further damage to the office property.

The attack on AAP's office comes days after the Maharashtra unit of the party released a document which showed that the state-owned power utility MahaGenco may have paid more for coal to fuel its plants which caused a hike in power tariffs. AAP alleged that corruption and mismanagement have caused losses to the tune of Rs 22,000 crore in the state.

Pawar holds the power portfolio in the state. AAP leaders said they would hold a peaceful protest outside NCP's offices in the city. "We will sweep the road outside NCP's office and pray to God to grant them good sense not to indulge in violence," Acharya said.

AAP to HC: Got funds from Indians only

New Delhi, February 22
Rejecting the allegation of illegally receiving foreign funds, the Aam Aadmi Party has told the Delhi High Court that it got donations worth Rs 30 crore from Indian citizens only, out which about Rs 8.5 crore came from NRIs.

Denying having violated any foreign exchange or other laws, the AAP contended that the PIL accusing it and its founding members of having illegally received foreign funding is "scandalous, frivolous, motivated and baseless".

The party, in its response filed in the high court, has said it has "very small amount of funds and also the most transparent method of political funding amongst all parties".

"It is the only party whose all financial records, and the names of each and every donor is on its website, open for public view," the affidavit, filed by AAP national secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta, said and sought dismissal of the PIL.

The AAP, while rejecting the contentions in the petition for lodging of a criminal case against it and its members, said that the high court "must direct a thorough investigation of the funding sources (including foreign funding) of major political parties, particularly the Congress and the BJP".

"These are the parties that have received donations officially running into thousands of crores from unknown sources. Other hidden donations that are not shown in their books may be much higher and deserve a thorough investigation in order to clean up our political and electoral system," the party has said in its response.

It has also alleged that while the Home Ministry "readily launched an investigation into AAP's finances on the pretext of pendency of the petition", no such probe or action was taken against major political parties, "despite clear cut evidence of taking foreign funding by them". — PTI