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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Kejriwal link drives ‘donors’ into a tizzy

Kejriwal link drives ‘donors’ into a tizzy

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published Published on Nov 6, 2012   modified Modified on Nov 6, 2012
-DNA

Top corporates and businessmen appear to be in a rush to defend themselves following a report in New Delhi-based tabloid Mail Today that they funded Arvind Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption (IAC).

The Tata Social Welfare Trust clarified that while it had indeed made a grant of Rs 25 lakh a year to Kejriwal’s NGO, the Ghaziabad-based Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) beginning 2009, the money was not meant to be used for any political activity.

That grant was made at the recommendation of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy for assisting Kejriwal to raise awareness about the Right to Information Act, the trust said.

Kejriwal’s NGO was to use the money to institute the National RTI Awards, to recognise the roles played by public
information officers, information commissioners and
citizens.

In fact, after the grant for 2011 was released, the NGO wrote back saying it would not be able to present the RTI Awards for that year and asked if the grant instead could be used for the movement on the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Tata Social refused to allow this and subsequently, the foundation returned the Rs 25 lakh for the year to the trust.

There have been no further grants to the NGO, the trust said.
Murthy, too, refuted the claim that he made a personal contribution of Rs 12 lakh to the NGO in 2010-11 and the suggestion that some of the cheques issued to the NGO by donors had bounced. “What I want to say is that all the reports including contribution and cheque bouncing are false. I have not issued cheque to any one,’’ he said.

Sanjeev Bhikchandani, founder of job portal naukri.com, was also left fuming. “In January 2011, I had, upon the request of a friend, donated Rs 50,000 to an NGO (PCRF) that was organising a candlelight march to India Gate on January 30th to protest against corruption in public life. The founder of the NGO was Arvind Kejriwal who with his IIT, IRS, RTI and Magasaysay award background seemed to be a good person to support. The cause too was right,” Bhikchandani wrote in his blog, pointing out that the contribution was less than “1% of my total philanthropic contributions”.

The serial entrepreneur also suggested an ulterior motive in the tabloid report. “Friends in the media have told me that perhaps this is a part of a larger game. Articles focusing on donors who work in the corporate sector and who normally shy away from politics will discourage them and others of their kind from donating more. Also many in the NGO world believe that private capital is evil and this will drive a wedge between them and Kejriwal. Therefore you get at Kejriwal in two ways,” he wrote.

DNA, 6 November, 2012, http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_kejriwal-link-drives-donors-into-a-tizzy_1760676?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


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