<p>The Income Tax Department has served a notice on Aam Aadmi Party seeking an explanation on charges of receiving funds from dubious sources as alleged by a splinter group -- a charge that had already been denied by the party.<br /><br />A similar notice has also been served on the Congress, a party spokesperson said.<br />The department, that functions under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) of the ministry of finance, has asked the party to furnish its reply by Feb 16 -- two days after Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath as Delhi chief minister following a stunning win in the assembly polls.<br /><br />In the run-up to the elections, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alleged that the AAP was caught red-handed in receiving dubious funds from companies that did not have any business, and accused its leadership of adopting diversionary tactics to deflect attention.<br /><br />He said such donations amounted to Rs.2 crore through cheques of Rs.50 lakh each from four firms.<br /><br />The Aam Aadmi Party had protested such allegations. "Mr. Finance Minister. Stop throwing muck. Act. Arrest me if i am guilty," Kejriwal tweeted. "Fin min (finance minister) says we took hawala money. Hawala money in cheques? I dare Fin min to arrest me if we took hawala money."<br /><br />He had also written to Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and urged him to set up a special probe team to probe investigate not just his party, but also the BJP and the Congress for the Delhi elections.<br /><br />The Congress party said it has also received a similar missive from the IT Department.<br /><br />"Yes, we have been served a notice. It is clearly a sign of political vendetta. Let me ask: Why has a similar notice not been served on BJP? Why single us and the AAP out. BJP has also spent crores of rupees on elections," a party spokesperson told IANS.<br /><br />At a press conference here last week, the AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a breakaway group of the party, had questioned the sources of funding for the Kejriwal-led party and alleged some of it could be sourced to what it described as "fraud" companies.</p>.<p><br />It said claimed the money donated on the midnight of April 15 last year.<br /></p>
<p>The Income Tax Department has served a notice on Aam Aadmi Party seeking an explanation on charges of receiving funds from dubious sources as alleged by a splinter group -- a charge that had already been denied by the party.<br /><br />A similar notice has also been served on the Congress, a party spokesperson said.<br />The department, that functions under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) of the ministry of finance, has asked the party to furnish its reply by Feb 16 -- two days after Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath as Delhi chief minister following a stunning win in the assembly polls.<br /><br />In the run-up to the elections, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alleged that the AAP was caught red-handed in receiving dubious funds from companies that did not have any business, and accused its leadership of adopting diversionary tactics to deflect attention.<br /><br />He said such donations amounted to Rs.2 crore through cheques of Rs.50 lakh each from four firms.<br /><br />The Aam Aadmi Party had protested such allegations. "Mr. Finance Minister. Stop throwing muck. Act. Arrest me if i am guilty," Kejriwal tweeted. "Fin min (finance minister) says we took hawala money. Hawala money in cheques? I dare Fin min to arrest me if we took hawala money."<br /><br />He had also written to Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and urged him to set up a special probe team to probe investigate not just his party, but also the BJP and the Congress for the Delhi elections.<br /><br />The Congress party said it has also received a similar missive from the IT Department.<br /><br />"Yes, we have been served a notice. It is clearly a sign of political vendetta. Let me ask: Why has a similar notice not been served on BJP? Why single us and the AAP out. BJP has also spent crores of rupees on elections," a party spokesperson told IANS.<br /><br />At a press conference here last week, the AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a breakaway group of the party, had questioned the sources of funding for the Kejriwal-led party and alleged some of it could be sourced to what it described as "fraud" companies.</p>.<p><br />It said claimed the money donated on the midnight of April 15 last year.<br /></p>