The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government organised and facilitated controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's visit to Jammu and Kashmir in 2003, the Congress alleged on Monday. The party suggested that the Bharatiya Janata Party government went all-out to make Naik's three-day visit a success, reported The Indian Express. The comments came after the Congress faced criticism for donations purportedly made by Naik's NGO to a trust headed by the Gandhi family.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said Naik has "become a new mantra" for the BJP. Tewari said the Naik visited the Raj Bhavan in Jammu and Kashmir while the People's Democratic Party – the BJP's current ally – was in power in the state. He added that the governor received Naik upon his arrival. "So as the BJP starts pointing fingers and imputing movies, it would be worthwhile to introspect that if Zakir Naik is the devil incarnate…what were they doing frolicking with the devil incarnate in 2003," Tewari said.

The ruling party, however, shot down the allegations. Party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, "The Congress always does this. When it is caught red-handed, it turns back and blames the previous NDA [National Democratic Alliance] government."

On the same day, the Home Affairs Ministry ordered a gazette notification against Naik's NGO Islamic research Foundation placing it in the prior permission list for foreign funding, Times of India reported.

According to The Indian Express, a ministry official said, "This is an unprecedented move, a decision taken at the highest levels of the home ministry. The Islamic Research Foundation has not only been placed in the ‘prior permission’ category, but a gazette notification is to be issued as well. This was because multiple FCRA [Foreign Contribution Regulation Act] violations were found."