Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the Congress will oppose the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill and that the issue will be discussed at a meeting of floor leaders of opposition parties on Monday.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the Congress will oppose the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill and the issue will also be discussed at the meeting of floor leaders of opposition parties on Monday.
Interacting with ANI here, Kharge also said that his visit to Uttarakhand is aimed at energizing party workers ahead of next year’s assembly polls. The FCRA Amendment Bill is expected to come in the Lok Sabha in the last week of the monsoon session of Parliament.
Kharge, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, addressed a public meeting in Haldwani on Saturday. During his visit, he will also interact with newly-appointed state and district presidents in Rudrapur today.
“We will oppose the FCRA-related move. We will take a decision (about strategy) tomorrow after a meeting of floor leaders,” he said.
Kharge said that Congress workers were making efforts to oust the BJP government from power in the next assembly polls in Uttarakhand. “I am the AICC President. I cannot come here every day, but our army is present here… Does PM Modi come here every day? Does Amit Shah come here? Does Nadda, even though he hails from this very region, come here? Does the new BJP President come here? We visit when and where it is necessary to energise our party workers. That does not mean we simply arrive and leave like tourists,” he said.
Wider Opposition to FCRA Bill
Several opposition parties have expressed their opposition to FCRA Amendment Bill. Congress leader KC Venugopal on Friday said that the party will vehemently oppose the Bill and the “government cannot bulldoze this type of bill”.
The Bill seeks to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, with the stated objective of enhancing transparency and accountability in the regulation of foreign contributions.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to present recommendations and register regional concerns regarding the FCTA. Lalduhoma later said that he had raised six issues with Shah. “The only thing that is very clearly mentioned to us is that it’s not going to be retrospective. That assurance was given to us, and the rest of the points will be given a paragraph-wise comment by him, and he (Amit Shah) is going to start the discussion on the 12th of this month in Parliament…”.
Shah also held a meeting in Parliament with members and representatives of the Christian community, who have expressed their opposition to provisions of the bill.
DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday urged the Union Government to withdraw the FCRA Amendment Bill and repeal Section 15 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. In a post on X, Stalin said a delegation of the Joint Action Forum on Minorities, led by DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson and comprising religious leaders from various denominations, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 6 and pressed for withdrawal of the Bill.
NCP(SP) has also opposed the Bill.
Kharge Slams BJP Government
In his speech in Haldwani on Saturday, Kharge expressed confidence that Congress would form the government in Uttarakhand in the upcoming Assembly elections. Kharge launched slammed BJP government “over the police crackdown on protesting students in Delhi”, flagged irregularities involving temple donations, unemployment, recruitment examinations and paper leaks in Uttarakhand. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)