Cong admits receiving foreign donations: Govt

NEW DELHI, MAY 20: The Home Ministry today told the Delhi High Court that Congress party has admitted receiving Rs 3.75 crore foreign donat...

NEW DELHI, MAY 20: The Home Ministry today told the Delhi High Court that Congress party has admitted receiving Rs 3.75 crore foreign donation in 1993 and also about its lapse in not informing the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act FCRA authorities.

Appearing on behalf of the Home Ministry, under which the FCRA cell functions, additional solicitor general, Dr Abhisek Manu Singhvi told the high court that Congress was given a deadline of May 24 to furnish details of the foreign donations and its source.

Dr Singhvi told a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice, Justice Mahinder Narain, and Justice S K Mahajan that if Congress failed to do so within the deadline, the FCRA cell would consider initiation of action under the default clause of the act.

The bench while posting further hearing of the matter to May 26 asked additional solicitor general, K N Bhat, appearing for Central Board of Direct Taxes CBDT, to bring to the court all relevant information regarding the donations. Congress president, Sitaram Kesri, who was the treasurer of the party at the time of receipt of the foreign donations, sought time to file reply to the petition, which he said was malafide.The FCRA puts a complete ban on political parties from receiving any donation from foreign sources. The affidavit further stated that the Congress has asked the Indian Bank, Singapore, from where the banker8217;s draft came to the Congress account in United Bank of India, Parliament Street, details of the source in September 1996.

These three drafts came from three companies dominion, decor and diera and were credited to the Congress account on December 29, 1993, the affidavit said.

The Bench asked the counsel for the petitioner, Prashant Bhusan, as to why Kesri be made a party on his individual capacity and not the Congress party.Bhusan said that he would amend the memo of parties in his petition which seeks a direction from the court to authorities to initiate action against the guilty in accordance with law for the violation of FCRA by Congress party.

Dr Singhvi told the court that the Home Ministry first came to know about the matter from a press report on march 17, 1997, and has proceeded very fast.

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He said the Home Minister Indrajit Gupta gave his 8220;go ahead8221; on the matter on March 27 and the FCRA cell issued a notice to Congress seeking its reply by April 14.

The additional solicitor general said the Congress sought some more time and the deadline was extended till May 24.

He said the details of the companies were being traced out as it would be necessary under the FCRA to find out whether the foreign contributions came from a foreign source. He said donations coming from an NRI and a foreign company, having over 50 per cent of share holdings owned by Indians, could not be termed as foreign donations under the Act. Bhusan said 8220;is it open for a political party to stall the prosecution proceedings for eight months on the ground that it was ascertaining details of the foreign donors when the act completely prohibits it from accepting any foreign donations.8221;