Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's  NGO the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) claimed that, it had given Rs 50 lakh as a donation to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) in 2011. The NGO is under the scanner for allegedly inspiring terrorists.

According to the Congress, it owned up the donation, but claimed that the money did not come to RGF but to an allied entity, Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT), and they returned the same amount to IRF "some months ago".

"May be, they are planning to return but we have not received anything yet," IRF spokesman said.

Later, it denied having received the donation. The RGF said it "stood by its reply in its entirety".

The IRF representative said that, "We donated 50 lakh to RGF in 2011. But the donation to RGF is just one of the several donations we make to NGOs of similar nature for education of the girl child, higher education in medicine, medical surgeries etc."

Party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that, "It (donation) was discovered by chance when the recent events happened and some months ago, a remittance was made."  

The IRF spokesman accused the government of leaking "selective" information about its donations to high-profile NGOs as part of the conspiracy to ban Naik and his NGO even when there was no "solid evidence" of wrongdoing.

The spokesman added, "Zakir Naik is being targetted for his popularity among Muslims. The government has decided to ban IRF and is working backwards by throwing accusations at us such as paying Rs 50 lakh donation as 'bribe' to the Congress."

Also Read: Zakir Naik's 'aide' arrested for recruiting youths for IS!

Nandini