SC notice to Centre on legalising foreign funding to political parties
New Delhi, July 2: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Central government's response on a plea challenging the amendments to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act which it said were introduced to bail out the BJP and Congress after a high court held them guilty of taking foreign funding.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud issued notice to the government on the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) plea seeking declaration that the amendments in FCRA 2010 by Section 236 of Finance Act, 2016 and by Section 217 of the Finance Act, 2018 are "void, illegal and unconstitutional".
The amendments to the FCRA, the petitioner contended, were introduced with retrospective effect to overturn a Delhi High Court order holding the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress guilty of accepting donations from overseas companies.
The plea against the Delhi High Court judgment was rejected by the top court, said the plea.
The amendments to the FCRA 1976, the PIL said, have "opened doors to unlimited political donations from foreign companies, thereby legitimizing financial contributions received from foreign sources".
Contending that the amendments were contrary to the principles of the separation of powers, it said that the amendment made in FCRA 2010 "vide the Finance Act 2016" was already under challenge before the top court and when matter is sub-judice, the Parliament by the Finance Act, 2018 has now made amendments with retrospective effect from 1976.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Betrayal of people's mandate': Tejashwi on Nitish's Rajya Sabha entry
Patna (PTI): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate.
Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, alleged the BJP has always been opposed to Dalits and OBCs, and with Kumar leaving the CM's post, it will seek to implement its agenda in the socialist stronghold.
"The BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar," he said.
ALSO READ: Lara Dutta stranded in Dubai as Middle East unrest escalates, urges better sense to prevail
"We have been saying from the very beginning that the BJP will not let Nitish Kumar remain the chief minister after the elections. This is exactly what has happened. This development is against the mandate of the people and amounts to a betrayal of it," he said.
Alleging that the BJP had "hijacked" Kumar, Yadav said that was the reason the veteran leader was now moving to the Rajya Sabha.
"BJP is against OBCs and Dalits. They never want a leader from these communities to occupy the top post. They want a chief minister who will function like a rubber stamp for the top BJP leadership," he alleged.
"I had said -- 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadhaya hai dulha banake, lekin phera kisi aur ke saath dila raha hai' (They made Nitish Kumar mount the horse like a groom, but are getting someone else to take the wedding vows)," he added.
Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, filed nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls, paving the way for the first BJP-led government in the state.
