BJP and Congress received foreign funds in violation of law:HC

March 29, 2014

New Delhi, Mar 29: In a significant judgment which would have political ramification, the Delhi High Court on Friday found two leading political parties-Congress and BJP guilty of accepting foreign funds from subsidiaries of Vedanta in violation of the existing law.

BJP_and_CongressFixing a time frame of six months, the court asked the central government and the Election Commission to take appropriate actions against the for flouting the norms laid down under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. "Prima-facie the acts of the respondents (Congress and BJP) inter-se, clearly fall foul of the ban imposed under the FCR Act as the donations accepted by the political parties from Sterlite and Sesa accrue from "foreign sources" within the meaning of law," a bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Jayant Nath said.

It came to the conclusion that "Vedanta is a "foreign company" within the meaning of the Companies Act and therefore, Vedanta and its subsidiaries - Sterlite and Sesa are a "foreign source" as contemplated under the FCRA. The bench directed the home ministry and election commission to "relook and reappraise the receipts of the political parties" to identify foreign donations and take action.

The court order followed to a PIL filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms through advocate Prashant Bhushan claiming the Britain-based Vedanta Resources and its subsidiary companies in India – including Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa and Malco of donating several crores of rupees to major political parties like the Congress and the BJP.

According to the PIL, Indian laws had been violated by the Congress and BJP by allegedly receiving funding from Vedanta Resources.

Further , it alleged that the two parties breached the Representation of the People Act, (RPA) and the FCRA. "Both the acts prohibit political parties from taking donations from government companies and from foreign sources, the plea said.

According to Vedanta's 2012 annual report, it made political donations to the tune of $2.01 million in 2011-12, the PIL said. "Sterlite's annual report of 2011-12 also states that during the year the group made political donations in India of Rs.5 crore either through a trust or directly."

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News Network
April 4,2020

Srinagar, Apr 4: Two militants were reportedly killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation based on intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in Hardmand Guri village in Kulgam, a police spokesperson said.

"This operation based on a credible police input was launched this morning. Two terrorists have been reportedly killed so far," the spokesperson said, adding that the exchange of fire was going on.

Earlier, the police tweeted on its official handle that three militants had been trapped in the cordon. "Same group of #terrorists trapped who killed 3 civilians recently," the police said.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Jun 19: Ten Indian Army soldiers including four officers were released by the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Friday capping three days of hard negotiations that followed the bloody battle at the eastern Ladakh’s Galwan valley on Monday.

The 10 jawans returned around 5.30 PM on Friday to Patrol Point 14 (PP-14) after Indian team leader Major Gen. Abhijit Bapat, the commanding officer of the Third Div made it clear to the Chinese that there couldn’t be any progress in the disengagement talks unless the soldiers were returned safely.

Asked to comment on the release of Indian soldiers, the Indian Army maintained silence. The force released a brief statement on Thursday stating that all its men were accounted for.

However, the extent of the brutal clash can be gauged from the fact that 76 Indian Army soldiers are still in the hospital out of which 58 soldiers have “minor injuries” and “should be back on duty within a week”, according to Army sources.

Return of the Indian soldiers has been the main point of negotiations for the last two days. The situation is now calmer at areas near PP-14 in the Galwan valley after the return of Indian soldiers even though large numbers of troops from both sides are still present in the area.

Meanwhile analysis of satellite images has revealed a large presence of Chinese troops in the northern banks of Pangong Tso, a disputed territory for years.

“In the past month, Chinese forces have become an overwhelming majority in the disputed areas (on the north bank of the 135 km long lake). Significant positions have been constructed between Fingers 4 and 5, including around 500 structures, fortified trenches and a new boat shed over 20 km further forward than previously. More structures appear to be under construction,” says a report published in the Strategist, the journal of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“The scale and provocative nature of these new Chinese outposts is hard to overstate: 53 different forward positions have been built, including 19 that sit exactly on the ridge line separating Indian and Chinese patrols,” says the report, accompanied by satellite images showing overwhelming PLA presence.

The June 6 Corps Commander level meeting between the Indian and PLA armies did not result in a solution to the contentious muscle flexing by the Chinese on the shores of the Pangong lake. The meeting ended with the conclusion that more Lt Gen level talks between the two armies were needed to resolve such issues.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: With the highest single-day increase of 12,881 COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's coronavirus count has reached 3,66,946 on Thursday.

This includes 1,60,384 active cases and 1,94,325 cured, discharged and migrated patients, according to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

Meanwhile, with 334 deaths being reported due to the infection, the toll due to the virus stands at 12,237 in the country.

There is a big increase in the number of confirmed cases in the country today as compared to the recent days when the spike had been limited to under 11,000 cases.

Maharashtra with 1,16,752 cases continues to be the worst-affected state in the country with 51,935 active cases while 59,166 patients have been cured and discharged in the state so far. The toll due to COVID-19 stands at 5,651 in the state.

The number of confirmed cases in Tamil Nadu also crossed the 50 thousand mark on Thursday and reached 50,193. The national capital is the third-worst affected by the infection in the country with the count reaching 47,102 today.

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