LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Monday said information about foreign funding
of Congress, BJP and other parties was a matter of public interest and
on that basis converted a petition seeking a probe on the issue into a
public interest litigation. It directed the court registry to list a
hearing on Wednesday.
The order, on the petition filed by social activist and member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Nutan Thakur, brings into focus the lack of transparency in election funds of big and small parties even as voting in many places is on. Both Congress and BJP have tried to resist calls to declare where money for electioneering was coming from, both donations from India and overseas. AAP is the only party that has put its sources in the public domain. Ironically, the government has started an inquiry into AAP's overseas funding, specifically from NRIs, Indian citizens by definition.
The petition had termed the decision of the Union home ministry to probe complaints against AAP as one-sided demanded it be extended to the Congress, BJP and other political parties.
After he
aring
the petition, Justice Devi Prasad Singh and Justice Ashok Pal Singh
said this matter did not only relate to the petitioner, but a wider
public realm and is hence a PIL. Thakur said that on October 26, 2012,
when she was not a member of AAP, she had lodged a complaint with the
Union home ministry on the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) by Congress and BJP by receiving donations
of about Rs 5 crore each from Vedanta Group subsidiaries — Sterlite
Industries and Sesa Goa. She sent a reminder on June 5, but no action
has been taken so far.
Thakur told TOI her complaint was based on newspaper articles published in October 17, 2012. "The Election Commission too had then asked the Central government to probe the matter. But since no action was taken, I decided to approach the high court and seek probe into foreign funding of all political parties, including Congress and BJP," she said. She said that the AAP has welcomed the inquiry on its funding ordered by the UPA government, but the order came during Delhi Assembly elections, which raised suspicion.
The order, on the petition filed by social activist and member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Nutan Thakur, brings into focus the lack of transparency in election funds of big and small parties even as voting in many places is on. Both Congress and BJP have tried to resist calls to declare where money for electioneering was coming from, both donations from India and overseas. AAP is the only party that has put its sources in the public domain. Ironically, the government has started an inquiry into AAP's overseas funding, specifically from NRIs, Indian citizens by definition.
The petition had termed the decision of the Union home ministry to probe complaints against AAP as one-sided demanded it be extended to the Congress, BJP and other political parties.
After he
aring
the petition, Justice Devi Prasad Singh and Justice Ashok Pal Singh
said this matter did not only relate to the petitioner, but a wider
public realm and is hence a PIL. Thakur said that on October 26, 2012,
when she was not a member of AAP, she had lodged a complaint with the
Union home ministry on the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) by Congress and BJP by receiving donations
of about Rs 5 crore each from Vedanta Group subsidiaries — Sterlite
Industries and Sesa Goa. She sent a reminder on June 5, but no action
has been taken so far.Thakur told TOI her complaint was based on newspaper articles published in October 17, 2012. "The Election Commission too had then asked the Central government to probe the matter. But since no action was taken, I decided to approach the high court and seek probe into foreign funding of all political parties, including Congress and BJP," she said. She said that the AAP has welcomed the inquiry on its funding ordered by the UPA government, but the order came during Delhi Assembly elections, which raised suspicion.
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