Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has lashed out at journalist Rana Ayyub for the Enforcement Directorate attached Rs. 1.77 Crore in money laundering probe.
Without naming Ayyub, Chaturvedi wrote on Twitter, “Collected money to help the poor. Fake bills prepared to claim expenses on relief work.
Expenses made for personal travel by air claimed as expense. Donated some part of the money collected into PMCares fund after abusing him 24/7.
Still calls self victim. Well okay.”
Collected money to help the poor.
Fake bills prepared to claim expenses on relief work.
Expenses made for personal travel by air claimed as expense
Donated some part of the money collected into PMCares fund after abusing him 24/7Still calls self victim. Well okay.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi???????? (@priyankac19) February 11, 2022
News agency IANS later quoted the Shiv Sena lawmaker as saying, “A large amount of money was collected as a donation during #COVID19 when she (journalist Rana Ayyub) said that she will help poor people. If the money was misused then an investigation should be carried out.”
Ayyub became a topic of intense social media conversations after it emerged that the ED had attached Rs. 1.77 crores in a money laundering probe. Ayyub was alleged to have collected public donations using the personal bank accounts of her sister and father. She was also reported to have paid Rs. 74.50 lakhs to PM Cares and CM Cares Funds.
Ayyub later issued a lengthy statement confirming that she indeed made a contribution of Rs. 74.50 lakh of public money to PM Cares and CM Cares Funds. This assumed significance given that she has routinely criticised the secrecy surrounding the PM Cares Fund.
Ayyub also confirmed that she indeed used the personal bank accounts of her father and sister to collect donations before transferring the amount into her bank account. Since she used public donations using personal accounts, she was liable to pay in excess of Rs 1 crore in income tax. Many raised questions on Ayyub’s decision to pay more than Rs. 1 crore as income tax when that amount was donated to help the needy.