INC, BJP violate Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act by getting donations from foreign entities

Chennai:

Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party are violating Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act by accepting contributions from foreign entities, according to a report by Tamil Nadu Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms.

The report, which was compiled through information collated from Income Tax department and RTIs, while citing foreign contributors to the two parties funds in the last eight years, states that the act does not permit accepting contributions from foreign companies or companies controlled in India by foreign companies.

Interestingly, despite the act in place both the national parties have been getting foreign donations. Even the Election Commission has brought the issue to the notice of Ministry of Home Affairs, says Anil Bariwal, national coordinator of ADR, adding that a PIL has also been filed in the Delhi High Court by ADR in this regard.

Interestingly, the Union Home ministry has turned a blind eye to the issue despite EC seeking the nature of action taken against the complaint.

The report states that Indian National Congress got Rs six crore from Sterlite Industries India in two instalments. The party got Rs one crore through a HDFC bank cheque dated January 2005 while the in the second instance in April 2009, it received a cheque of Rs 5 crore.

Interestingly, it is not only Sterlite but companies like Sesa Goa Limited of Vedanta Group which contributed Rs 2.78 crore, Solaries Holdings (Rs 1 crore) and Hyatt Regency (Rs 5 lakh) have contributed to the Congress kitty.

Similarly, BJP got a donation worth Rs 14.5 crore from the Public and Political Awareness Trust, from 2003-2011 in six instalments and from Vedanta The Madras Aluminium Co (Rs 3.5 crore) in two instalments in 2009-10. Similarly it also got funding from Sesa Goa Limited and Dow Chemical. The donations also bring to light how corporates like Vedanta group is funding both the ruling as well as opposition parties.

As per the act, the companies which are found to have made such a donation will be made to pay three times the amount contributed to the party alongwith imprisonment of the authorizing officer of upto three years with fine.

 Bariwal says political parties should be declared as public entities and brought under RTI act besides the extensive audits of all donations should be conducted by comptroller and auditor general approved auditors.

Bariwal also called for exhaustive scrutiny of IT returns of the political parties by income tax department besides a comprehensive law should be implemented to govern functioning of political parties.