Congress leader KC Venugopal has described the FCRA amendment bill as ‘undemocratic’. He alleged that the purpose of this bill being brought in the monsoon session is to increase the Centre’s control over civil society organizations and target critics of the government.
New Delhi [भारत]July 18 (ANI): Congress general secretary (organisation) and Lok Sabha MP KC Venugopal on Friday strongly criticized the Modi government’s move to reintroduce the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, during the upcoming monsoon session. He alleged that the proposed law is “undemocratic” and aimed at further tightening the Centre’s control over civil society organisations.
In a post on “The Modi government’s plan to re-introduce the FCRA amendment in the upcoming monsoon session is completely undemocratic. It shows that they will crush people’s rights to fulfill their divisive agenda and will happily go against public sentiment,” Venugopal said.
Attempt to silence civil society
He alleged that the proposed amendments would increase the Centre’s interference in the functioning of civil society groups and could be used to target organizations critical of the government. He said, “These amendments are designed to allow greater interference by the Center in the functioning of civil society groups, and provide another weapon to the government to silence organizations that stand against its politics.”
The bill has already been returned
The Congress leader reminded that the bill was earlier withdrawn during the budget session following protests from political parties and civil society. “In the budget session, they were forced to withdraw this bill due to widespread protests. After that, they brought these amendments through the framework of the rules. Now, they are bringing these amendments in Parliament once again, despite voices being raised against it from all sides,” he said.
Venugopal urged the government to withdraw the proposed law and warned that Congress would strongly oppose it during the monsoon session. “The government should remove this bill from the set of laws proposed to be passed in this session. We will vehemently oppose these amendments on the floor of the House,” he said.
What are the provisions of the bill?
The Center is expected to introduce the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, during the monsoon session beginning July 20, according to a bulletin from the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The Bill seeks to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, the stated objective of which is to enhance transparency and accountability in the regulation of foreign contributions.
It proposes that the FCRA registration of an organization will lapse on expiry, non-renewal or refusal of renewal by the government. It also provides for the creation of a designated authority to oversee the vesting, supervision, management and disposal of foreign contributions and related assets.
The monsoon session of Parliament will run from July 20 to August 13 and is expected to see heated debates on several government bills as well as issues raised by the opposition, including the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, Ayodhya Ram temple donation embezzlement case and foreign policy. (ANI)
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