NEW DELHI: At a time when the home ministry is in the process of initiating action against some NGOs for receiving foreign funds in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the Election Commission has nudged the ministry to act against two leading parties, Congress and BJP , for receiving donations from companies with majority foreign holdings.

Political parties are not allowed to receive donations from foreign companies. However, a consolidated list of ‘foreign source’ donors, prepared by the home ministry after an order from the Delhi High Court, shows while the Congress received 10 “foreign” donations of more than Rs 13 crore between 2007 and 2011, BJP received five such donations amounting to Rs 1.62 crore.

The list of foreign donors was prepared after the high court, in its March 2014 order, indicted both Congress and BJP for receiving foreign funds in violation of FCRA guidelines. The court had asked the home ministry and EC to “relook and reappraise the receipts of the political parties and identify foreign contributions received by foreign sources” and take action within six months. Both BJP and Congress have already approached the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Delhi HC, but no stay has been granted on the HC order

The EC, a source said, has written to the home ministry saying the Representation of People Act has no provision to act against foreign companies donating to parties. The EC asked the ministry to take “appropriate action” against them under FCRA in order to comply with the HC order.

In response to the EC letter, the home ministry has submitted a list of ‘foreign source’ donors to the election watchdog giving details of all donations received by Congress and BJP from companies having foreign holding of more than 50 per cent. However, the home ministry has not specified what action the government is contemplating against these parties.

Since the apex court has not issued any direction on staying action against these parties as ordered by the Delhi HC, the home ministry has consulted the ministry of corporate affairs and has drawn a list of ‘foreign source’ donors who have contributed to Congress and BJP’s election kitty between 2006-07 and 2010-11.

The ministry of corporate affairs was also asked to provide the names of companies having more than 50 per cent foreign holdings, which donated to both the parties during this period.

The foreign companies in the list included Dow Chemicals Intl. Pvt Ltd with 100 per cent foreign holding; Apothecin Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd (87.97 per cent foreign holding) and Traspek Silox Industry Ltd (83.28 per cent) among others.

Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd which contributed Rs 5 crore to Congress in 2009-10 had foreign holding of 80.57 per cent, according to the home ministry’s report.

Both Congress and BJP have challenged the HC order of ‘foreign holding’ of Sterlite.

The two parties have argued that Anil Agarwal and his family hold more than 50 per cent share in Vedanta subsidiaries and thus they are not foreign source. The HC had in its order held Vedanta as a ‘foreign company’ within the meaning of the Companies Act, and the fact that the Anil Aggarwal-owned company and its subsidiaries, Sterlite and Sesa, were foreign sources as per the FCRA.

The home ministry list debunks the stand taken by both BJP and Congress as it shows Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Anil Agarwal-held Vedanta group, has more than 80 per cent foreign holding. The government’s findings also validate the Delhi HC judgment that had found donations from these foreign sources in violation of FCRA guidelines.