FCRA bill not taken up amid oppn protests

NEW DELHI: Opposition protests against the bill to amend the foreign contribution regulation law rocked Parliament on Wednesday, forcing adjournment of proceedings in Lok Sabha amid allegations that the BJP was trying to control independent NGOs.

Opposition MPs also held a protest in the Parliament complex. As LS was convened, opposition members started raising slogans against the FCRA (Amendment) Bill. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the bill seeks to protect national security and was not aimed at any religion. He said the bill was not being taken up for discussion Wednesday.

Congress, Left misleading people of Kerala: Rijiju on FCRA bill

As the protest was led primarily by members from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Rijiju said Congress and Left parties were misleading the people of pollbound Kerala.

With BJP wooing Christians, especially in pollbound Kerala where they comprise over 18% of the population, govt’s decision to go slow on the FCRA bill in the face of protests from Christian groups might have been driven by political pragmatism. While BJP believes that amending the law through the bill is necessary to curb its alleged misuse against “national interest”, the party has been receptive to the demands of Christian groups in the past, as witnessed in the quick release of two Kerala nuns arrested under anti-conversion law in Chhattisgarh last year, after fierce protests from the community.

The opposition’s demonstration was held ahead of the start of Parliament’s proceedings. Holding a huge banner which asked govt to “stop targeting NGOs and Institutions’, the MPs raised slogans and demanded that the bill be withdrawn.

As most MPs were away for election campaigning, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said Monday night that Congress members had been asked to be present in the House and oppose the FCRA bill, while other parties were invited to join the protest.



Congress MP Manickam Tagore said opposition unity had forced govt to withhold the bill for now. Fellow Congress member Manish Tewari called the bill “arbitrary, malafide and capricious”.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged, “BJP wants to control NGOs and turn them into puppets, and gradually take over their assets.”

Congress and the Left, the two traditional rivals in Kerala, have joined forces against the bill’s provisions, which they allege will target charitable institutions, including schools and hospitals, run by minorities, especially Christians.
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