‘Congress knows art of corruption and corruption through art’: Anurag Thakur

Launching an attack on Congress, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said that the party knows the “art of corruption and corruption through art.” Thakur’s remarks follow a recent report published by global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a body that deals with anti-money laundering measures related to terror financing and has mentioned Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in one of its case studies.

In its recent report titled Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Art and Antiquities Market, the FATF alleged that Rana Kapoor, the former CEO of Yes Bank, bought a mediocre painting from Priyanka Gandhi for Rs 2 crore. Addressing a press conference here today, the Union Minister said, “Congress knows the art of corruption and corruption through art. They are running a campaign against the country. They should apologize to the nation and stop their Cambridge cries.”

He further said that organizations investigating terror-funding cases are now conducting a case study on the corruption model of the Congress. Earlier on Monday, Thakur said the FATF had published a case study on how a former Union Minister in the UPA government had put pressure on an individual. He further asked Priyanka Gandhi to answer and reveal the identity of “Mr. R.” referred to in the FATF report.

Reacting to the allegations of Thakur, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the BJP was indulging in a ‘conspiracy’. “If they want to do a conspiracy, then they can, but we don’t care,” said Chowdhury. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari claimed that Anurag Thakur was “in pain” because Congress formed the government in Himachal Pradesh, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned.

Shiv Sena (Uddav Thackeray faction) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that it seemed that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry was tasked with the job of leveling allegations against the Gandhi family.