The Aam Aadmi Party chief says donations have increased six times. (File photo)
Arvind Kejriwal has said thank you to the BJP and the Congress. He says donations to his Aam Aadmi Party or AAP have gone up six times since Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde announced an investigation into the source of foreign funding to it.
"We are grateful to the BJP and Congress for raising questions on our funds. Donations have increased 6 times. 1100 people have donated since morning," tweeted Mr Kejriwal, who insists that his funding is transparent and all accounted for.
He has now demanded an investigation into where the Congress and the BJP get their funds from too.
"They can probe us but they should also investigate the funding of the BJP and Congress. The home minister should reveal the source of the Congress party's funding too," said Kejriwal, adding, "If we are found guilty, we are ready to face double punishment. Receiving money from NRIs is not a crime and everything is displayed on the website; what is the problem with that?"
An AAP official confirmed that donations hit Rs 13 lakh today; the daily average, he said, had been about Rs 8 lakh so far.
The year-old political outfit has reportedly collected about Rs 19 crore in donation from 63,000 people - including from rickshaw pullers, traders, industrialists and overseas Indians.
The biggest donation of Rs 50 lakh came from a Non Resident Indian or NRI from Hong Kong.
The government is investigating these funds and has sent a questionnaire to Mr Kejriwal's party. "AAP has not responded yet to the questionnaire," said Mr Shinde, who has said that he ordered the investigation after the Delhi High Court last month asked the Centre to look into AAP's accounts and submit a report by December 10.
Mr Kejriwal's party will debut in the December 4 Delhi Assembly election challenging traditional rivals BJP and the Congress. He alleges that AAP is being targeted because opinion polls have predicted it will do better than expected on December 8, when results are counted.
The party is fighting elections on an anti-corruption plank.