After having been caught in a controversy for inflating travel expense reimbursements from her hosts, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Monday said the excess amount would be returned to the hosts.
She said the “trustees of the India Vision Foundation have inst-ructed the travel agent to return the balance amounts forthwith” and that the NGO’s trustees have passed a resolution directing her to travel strictly as per invite. “This leaves no room for discretion,” added Ms Bedi.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, however, said, “This means if corrupt people return money, they will also be absolved of their crimes. Then why has A. Raja been kept in jail? Raja also returns money and comes out?”
He said Team Anna’s anti-corruption movement was executed by the RSS-BJP combine and that the BJP’s defence of Mr Arvind Kejriwal over the transfer of money to his NGO was proof enough of that nexus.
Ms Bedi had claimed that “she did not personally benefit from this and that the money thus saved went to India Vision Foundation and was used for social work”.