BANGALORE: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)-Bangalore has denied allegations that it had collected huge donations from foreign countries for its midday meal scheme of Akshaya Patra for the benefit of schoolchildren.

Such allegations had been levelled on the floor of the Legislative Assembly by some members who also expressed concern that the ISKCON had been portraying India as country of hungry children in order to raise donations.

In a press release here on Friday, the ISKCON-Bangalore said the overseas donations collected for the midday meal scheme was less than 8.7 per cent of the total budget for the scheme.

It maintained that it had not celebrated poverty, but had only highlighted the effectiveness of the midday meal scheme.

On the allegations that it was wrongly publicising the cost of a meal at Rs. 6 as against Rs. 3 by other organisations, ISKCON said such a difference in cost was due to the qualitative and quantitative difference in the meal provided by the Akshaya Patra and others.

While it served a three-item menu, the others served a one or a two-item menu, the ISKCON claimed.

Besides the quantity of food served by it was unlimited.

However, due to economy of scale and use of modern technology, the cost of meal was coming down to Rs. 4.50 for students from Class I to VII and Rs. 5.50 to Rs. 6 for those from Class VIII to Class X, the release said.

The organisation had highlighted the contribution of the Government to its midday meal scheme in all its communication material, it claimed.

The organisation also maintained that it was neither seeking donations for its Krishna Theme Park Project nor was it using the government-allotted land for the project. It was a commercially self-sustaining tourism project being executed with funding from financial institutions.

On the floating of multiple trusts by its head Madhu Pandita Dasa, the release said such trusts had been formed only to handle the various distinct activities. Other ISKCON centres too had followed a similar approach, the release noted.

In another statement, the ISKCON-Bangalore Devotee Association too has demanded a high-level inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the midday meal scheme.

It alleged that ISKCON-Bangalore president Madhu Pandita Dasa had converted the properties of ISKCON into trusts controlled by him and his family members.

The ISKCON, however, has denied sthe allegations.

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