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Rights group alleges BJP leader forged documents to divert attention from fight against communal forces

Shabnam Hashmi, Ahnad founder
By Our Representative
Making a serious allegation, top human rights NGO, Anhad, founded in the wake of the communal riots in Gujarat, has said that senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Purshottam Rupala "forged documents" to defame the organisation. In a statement, it has said, Anhad has been under "concerted attack" for the last few months, and the attack is lead by Rupala, who has written letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against Anhad, even as leaking "half-baked information against Anhad to various small time websites assumingly supported by them."
Clarifying, the statement said, "Rupala has attached FC 6 forms for 2009-10 and 2010-11 with his letter to the Prime Minister. He has specifically raised the question of Anhad hiding grant from Hivos. Rupala writes: “I also want to highlight a very important point which has come to my knowledge, that Anhad has not declared to the Ministry of Home that it has also received Euro 3580 from Hivos”.
The statement comments, "The fact of the matter is that FC 6 forms submitted to the Prime Minister of India by the Rajya Sabha MP and BJP Gujarat president Mr Purshottam Rupala are forged."
Elucidating, the statement said, "Rupala has said in his letter that Anhad has not declared to the Ministry of Home that it received Euros 3580 from Hivos. He has submitted a copy of the FC-6 form which shows that Oxfam India gave Rs 18,42,735 to Anhad in 2009-2010."
"Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010 (FCRA 2010) was passed by Rajya Sabha on August 19, 2010 with a view to replace the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 1976. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 came into effect from May 1, 2011", the statement reads, underlining, "There was no online filing of accounts in the year 2009-10 and FC-6 forms did not exist in 2009-10 and 2010-11."
In fact, the statement said, "Anhad did not file any online form for year ending March 31, 2010. It became mandatory to file online forms only in 2011-12. In 2009-10 and 2010-11 FC3 forms existed and not FC-6."
Further, Rupala’s "forged" FC 6 document address of Oxfam India is shown as Plot No 19, Amravati Cooperative Housing Society, Secunderabad- 500009. In forged FC 6 form for 2010-11 Christian Aid’s address is shown as Calcutta. Both Oxfam Indian and Christian Aid had offices in Delhi during these years. "The document is neither signed by Anhad’s Managing Trustee Shabnam Hashmi nor the chartered accountant", the statement asserts.
Attaching a copy of the FC3 form submitted to Ministry of Home Affairs signed by Hashmi and the chartered accountant for 2009-10, the statement says, it "clearly shows all the amounts received from different donors, including Hivos. The amount mentioned above, Rs 18,42,735.00, was not given by Oxfam India only but by different donors Oxfam India Rs 12,15,000.00, Hivos Rs 2,14,785.00, Action Aid International Rs 1,90,000.00, Sama Rs 40,000, Hope for Childre Rs 1,82,950.00."
The statement further said, "Following Rupala’s attack many of his cronies have written on various small time websites raising questions especially about Christian Aid’s funds. Christian Aid supports Anhad’s community work, women empowerment, livelihood, disaster risk reduction work in Bihar and Kashmir."
The statement alleges, "Rupala is not only ignorant about Anhad’s work but also paranoid. In 2007 he gave a call to fight Anhad, delcaring Anhad had brought 1,000 people from outside to do plays against Gujarat. The fact of the matter is, these were in fact 45 young activists from within Gujarat who travelled on three routes and performed all over Gujarat taking the preamble of the Indian constitution to the people of Gujarat."
"It is very clear that by specifically targeting Christian Aid they want to use the communal card which they have perfected over years", Anhad statement alleges, adding, "Anhad was formed in 2003 and our major work is safeguarding democracy and secularism. In Gujarat, where on an average assembly doesn’t work for more than 30 days per year, where deputy speaker is not appointed, where MLAs are told what questions to ask, and where senior police officers are sent to take MLAs' signatures on blank question forms and various reports questioning all undemocratic practices are never placed on the floor of the house, talking of democracy and secularism by default becomes anti Modi."
The statement says, "Every single voice within Gujarat, RB Sreekumar, Sanjeev Bhatt and others, have been under attack. RTI activists Amit Jetwa and Nadeem Sayed have been killed. Now that Modi has national ambitions they are attacking every civil society voice including Anhad, Harsh Mander, Gagan Sethi, Teesta Seetalvad, and so on. Anyone who can expose ra Modi’s communal agenda as well as the myth of Gujarat development at the national level is under attack."
The statement attaches following statements to clarify its points:
Document one
Document two

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