The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill that the Narendra Modi government has introduced in Parliament targets minority communities and charitable organisations, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal alleged on Monday, days after the top Catholic Christian body in India flagged the bill as one that enables “undue interference in minority institutions.”
The FCRA bill was aimed at bringing Christian communities under control and was "hanging over minorities like a sword of Damocles," Vengupal, the All India Congress Committee general secretary, alleged.
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, with the government making it clear that individuals engaging in forced religious conversion through foreign funding will not be spared.
Venugopal alleged that the bill was introduced without adequate notice while MPs from poll-bound states were busy with election campaigning.
"The details came to light only after Congress MP Manish Tewari pointed out anomalies in the provisions and objected to them. Despite the objections, the bill was introduced," he said.
Venugopal said provisions in the proposed amendments would restrict the functioning of charitable organisations and enable greater central intervention. He echoed what the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India had said days before.
The conference, the apex body of the Catholic Church in the country, had said in a press statement last week that the proposed changes to the law, "brought under the pretext of licence renewal", could enable "executive overreach" into constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, raising serious concerns about "undue interference" in the functioning of minority institutions and civil society organisations.
The conference objected to “clauses that grant sweeping powers to the Central Government, allowing it to deny renewal or cancel licenses of organizations. More significantly, the proposed framework would permit a newly constituted authority to assume control over institutions, including their funds, properties, and other assets.”
It termed such provisions “unacceptable, raising serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and accountability.”
Venugopal echoed concerns that the amendments would empower the Centre to take over organisations, including those run by minorities, by appointing a designated authority or administrator.
"When the prime minister visits Kerala and addresses public meetings, he should clarify whom this bill is targeting," Venugopal said.
Venugopal alleged a pattern of attacks on minorities, referring to incidents involving nuns and priests in states such as Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and said such actions were becoming frequent.
He said the Congress had earlier warned, during discussions on the Waqf amendment bill, that similar legislation could be brought affecting other minority communities and even economically weaker sections among Hindus.
