Plea in Madras High Court alleges scam in NaMo app fund collection, seeks action against Nadda, Amit Malviya

CHENNAI: A Chennai resident has moved the Madras High Court with a plea seeking a probe into an alleged online micro-donation scam being operated through the Narendra Modi (NaMo) App and the Narendra Modi website by the Centre-ruling BJP, and sought action against the party’s former national president JP Nadda, and the chief complaints officer of the NaMo App, Amit Malviya, who also heads the BJP IT wing.

The petitioner, BR Aravindakshan, a resident of Chennai, alleged that using sugar-coated online propaganda and digital operations, the BJP lured members of the public into making donations for Union government schemes through the app. However, the funds were collected for the party and countless members of the public were cheated, he claimed.

The petitioner said he came across Nadda’s social media posts announcing a “special micro-donation campaign” and appealing to the public to make donations to empower the party. The links provided for the donations made him believe that the contributions were linked to the BJP and various Union government schemes.

Through this, the party and its members committed cognisable offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, and the rules relating to political party funding, he said, and sought a direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Commissioner of Police, Chennai, to register an FIR and initiate legal action against the party, Nadda, Amit Malviya, and others involved in the alleged NaMo App special micro-donation online ‘scam’.

As an interim direction, the petitioner also sought a direction to the party and its members to submit the entire account of funds collected through the app, and also to restrain them from operating the app and website till the disposal of the plea.

The matter is expected to be listed for hearing shortly.