China cash that BJP cannot see

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2020-06-29 07:19:49

New Delhi: Time was when accepting donations from Chinese institutions was as proper and acceptable as sharing space on a swing.

Yet, the BJP, in its haste to divert attention from the Galwan blunder, has forgotten the adage that when you point a finger at someone, you are pointing three at yourself. In this case, at least two fingers are pointing at the BJP ecosystem.

The Observer Research Foundation, a foreign policy think tank associated with foreign minister S. Jaishankar’s son, received funding from the Chinese consulate, including that in Calcutta, in 2016. The ORF is supported by Reliance Industries.

Another think tank, the Vivekananda International Foundation, has declared on its website that it has working relationships with nine Chinese institutions on matters of foreign and strategic policy.

National security adviser Ajit Doval is founding director of the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), which shares close ties with BJP leaders and the RSS.