Act against BJP, Congress over foreign funds, says court

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the central government and the Election Commission to take appropriate actions against the Congress and the BJP for taking foreign funds in violation of law.

Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Jayant Nath allowed the plea of an NGO filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking directions for a probe into donations allegedly taken by the parties from subsidiaries of the Britain-based Vedanta group.

The bench said the concerned authority should act within six months in accordance with the law.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress had claimed that Vedanta Resources was not a foreign company and therefore no law had been violated.

The PIL filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms through Bhushan said the Britain-based Vedanta Resources and its subsidiary companies in India - including Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa and Malco - "have donated several crores of rupees to major political parties like the Congress and the BJP".

The two parties breached the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the PIL alleged.