AAP demands withdrawal of amendment to FCRA

AAP said the move will encourage flow of black money and appealed to non-BJP non-Congress parties to come together to oppose it.

New Delhi: AAP on Saturday demanded immediate withdrawal of the change proposed in Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by the Centre and accused Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of trying to "bail out" BJP and Congress from facing imminent action for having accepted foreign funds.

"The amendment proposed with retrospective effect in the FCRA by Jaitley when he moved the finance bill on 29th February, which has now been exposed by the media, is illegal and a clear attempt to subvert justice, since the Delhi High Court had in March 2014 held both the BJP and Congress guilty of having accepted foreign funds.

"Further, the Supreme Court has so far refused to stay the Delhi High Court judgment, even two years after BJP and Congress were found guilty of having taken foreign funds," the party said in a statement.

The party added that Jaitley's "desperate move to quietly" amend the FCRA is one of the worst examples of political opportunism which is clearly aimed at saving BJP and Congress from the action sought against these two parties by the Election Commission.

"It is extremely shocking that Jaitley is trying to change the definition of a foreign company to bail out his own political party," the statement said.

It said the move will encourage flow of black money and appealed to non-BJP non-Congress parties to come together to oppose it.

"This development will encourage black money in politics and will further harm the country's democracy, if this FCRA amendment is allowed to be passed in Parliament. The AAP appeals to all the non-BJP non-Congress parties to ensure the defeat of this amendment in Parliament and expose the unholy nexus of these two parties, which do not want transparency in political funding," the party said.