Delhi HC judgment exposes Congress, BJP: AAP

The AAP Friday welcomed the Delhi High Court's judgment asking the central government and the Election Commission to take appropriate action against the Congress and the BJP for taking foreign funds in violation of law.

"The landmark judgment by the Delhi High Court holding the Congress and the BJP guilty of taking foreign funds in violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act has exposed the deep rooted nexus between these parties and corporate houses," said a statement from the Aam Aadmi Party.

Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Jayant Nath Friday 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 Britain-based Vedanta group.

Bhushan is also a member of the AAP.

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 plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms through Bhushan said 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".

It said the two parties breached the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).