Day before, the CBI raided the home of Durgesh Pathak, a former AAP MLA and co-incharge of the party’s Gujarat campaign, in connection with a case of alleged foreign donations that may violate FCRA norms.
The case, also involving AAP office-bearer Kapil Bhardwaj, was filed following a complaint by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which cited irregularities in foreign donations made to AAP between 2015 and 2016. The donations are said to have come from foreign nationals, which is prohibited under Indian law for political parties.
According to the FIR, AAP received over ₹1 crore in foreign donations from 155 donors across 404 transactions. Allegedly, the party concealed the identities and nationalities of some donors and used the same passports, mobile numbers, and credit cards across multiple donations—raising suspicions of manipulation.
The FIR also refers to emails and fundraising events in Canada where Pathak and Bhardwaj reportedly instructed AAP volunteers to channel donations to them directly, bypassing official channels.
AAP leaders have strongly denied wrongdoing, calling the raid a politically motivated attack meant to intimidate the party as it grows stronger in Gujarat.
Durgesh Pathak claimed the CBI team searched his two-room house for four hours and found nothing. He said the action was meant to “scare” him and stop AAP’s rise in Gujarat. Other senior leaders like Sanjay Singh, Atishi, and Manish Sisodia echoed this sentiment, accusing the BJP of “fear and conspiracy” tactics.
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