Parallel bodies abroad funding Indian political parties, says pro-democracy NGO; refuses to name Sangh Parivar

Jagdeep Chhokar addressing ADR seminar in Ahmedabad

By A Representative
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a top civil rights organization which works for transparency and accountability in Indian politics, has accused “certain parallel associations working abroad” for seeking to utilize the March 2016 amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010, to fund political parties.
The accusation comes close on the heels of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) saying that the FCRA amendment would help “foreign-based radical Hindu organizations … to send funds to India without restriction to support hate campaigns” (click HERE to read).
USCIRF, an independent, bipartisan US federal government commission, identifies these organizations as Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Sewa International USA, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation-USA, and the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party-USA.
Refusing to name any of them, ADR’s founder-trustee Jagdeep Chhokar, former professor of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, underlined, “We don’t name organizations and political parties which are funded from abroad. But all know what their activities are.”
On being asked whether he thought organizations attached with BJP and Sangh Parivar were involved in funding hate campaigns in India, Chhokar said, “There is no relationship between a funding political party and supporting hate campaigns.”
ADR is receives its funds under FCRA, which, a participant in the seminar told Counterview, was a major reason why it would not name Hindutva groups for funding BJP. “It adopts a safe, equidistance approach towards BJP and Congress, to avoid any Modi clampdown on the NGO”, the participated claimed.

IPS officer Kuleep Sharma addressing the seminar

Commenting o the March 2016 amendment, Chhokar said, it was “hastily and silently introduced by BJP with Congress help to legalize funding by foreign entities to political parties”, adding, it “came into effect retroactively from 2010, when FCRA was introduced.”
The amendment, said Chhokar, was in response to a 2014 Delhi High Court decision, in which the court ruled that both the BJP and the Congress were guilty of violating FCRA, because they received millions of dollars from foreign entities for their 2014 election campaigns.
Chhokar gave the example of a Public Awareness and Political Trust, owned by three companies, all of them subsidiaries of UK-based multinational corporation, Vedanta, which he said was “diverting foreign controlled money” to Congress and BJP.
He said, there were in all 19 such electoral trusts, which came up under a 2013 Government of India scheme allowing India’s biggest industrial houses to give money to political parties in the name of transparency in such funding.
As the High Court ordered the Election Commission to act against both the two main parties, Chhokar said, both aligned to bring in an amendment to FCRA in March 2016, which characterized as “Indian” a foreign company owning an Indian entity so long as its foreign investment limits were under prescribed limits, allowing it to give funds to a political party bypassing FCRA.
Addressing the ADR seminar, which was supported by the right to information civil rights organization Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, former BJP chief minister Suresh Mehta said that the biggest concern currently is how government and ruling political party is maintaining secrecy in its crucial decisions of giving public resources to private entities.
Ajay Umat, editor, “Navgujarat Samay”, a Gujarati daily, said, “Political parties have been using their machineries and making political appointments at key educational institutions, which is becoming major challenge in the democratic functioning. Information is not shared even with elected representatives to avoid discussions and debates.”
Others who addressed the seminar included Gujarat cadre IPS officer Kuldeep Sharma, currently with the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party leader and ex-BJP MLA Kanu Kalsaria, economist Prof Rohit Shukla and Gandhian activist Indukumar Jani.

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog