Catholic Bishops' Conference of India Meets Amit Shah, Urges Him to Withdraw FCRA Amendment Bill, New Rules
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: A delegation of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) on Friday (June 10) met Union home minister Amit Shah and submitted a memorandum to him, urging Shah to withdraw the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2026 and the recently notified rules.
Calling for the redrafting of both the Bill and the rules, the CBCI expressed concern over the proposed amendments and said that some of them can affect charitable institutions that have served poor and vulnerable communities for decades, reported Press Trust of India.
The memorandum called for independent judicial oversight in FCRA cases and asked for safeguards, before the government can take over or transfer the assets of an institution. The memorandum said that any changes to the law should apply only in the future and should not affect existing rights, legally acquired assets or ongoing charitable work.
The CBCI memorandum also raised concerns over religious freedom, the rights of Scheduled Caste (SC) Christians and the humanitarian crisis in Manipur.
The PTI report added that Shah told the delegation that that the proposed FCRA amendments should not be viewed as to be directed against the Christian community and that the proposed amendments would not have a retrospective effect.
Congress MP Venugopal accuses Shah of 'Lying' to CBCI
However, Congress Lok Sabha MP and party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal slammed Shah in a post on X and accused him of “lying.”
“In typical BJP fashion, HM Amit Shah has lied to the CBCI about FCRA and is wrongly deflecting blame to hide his government’s culpability in weaponising the FCRA laws. In reality, the Modi Government has been hell bent on using the FCRA to harass vocal civil society organisations and minority-run institutions and take over their properties,” Venugopal wrote on X.
“The Home Minister must stop misleading the CBCI, eminent personalities and the general public, and immediately withdraw these rules,” he added.
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