New Delhi: The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2026 was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday, amid the Opposition demanding that the Bill be withdrawn entirely.
The resolution, introduced by MoS Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, said that the Bill would be referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses consisting of 21 Members of the Lok Sabha to be nominated by the Speaker, and 10 Members of the Rajya Sabha to be nominated by Chairman, Rajya Sabha. It said that to constitute a sitting of the Joint Committee, the quorum shall be, as near as may be, one-third of the total number of Members of the Joint Committee.
This Committee would submit a report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session 2026.
In response, Congress MP KC Venugopal asked for withdrawal of the bill, saying, “This legislation is clearly for targeting NGOs and minority institutions, those that are doing good work. On one side, the RSS is getting complete donations from foreign countries, on the other side the Government is trying to target the minorities and NGOs.”
In response, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the Opposition has been demanding that the Bill be referred to a Parliamentary Committee.
“If KC Venugopal ji or any other member has any objections with the Bill, they can raise it with the JPC. The JPC will get enough time and more people can be heard…I thought they would welcome this…Instead of welcoming this, they are opposing it. This isn’t to target any minority community. This is for the security of the entire country,” he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav also spoke against the reference of the Bill to the JPC, saying, “All of us in Opposition are against the FCRA. The Minister is saying that this Bill isn’t against the Minority. He should answer which Bill they have brought which isn’t against the Minority?” he asked.
In response, Rijiju shot back, challenging Yadav to point out any provision that is against any minority.
“Lies are being spread in the country…Do you want foreign funds to come into India without any law and be spent here. This country is not a banana republic. There should be rules and regulations as per the spirit of the Constitution. There is not a single provision in the proposed FCRA to target minority institutions. There is a campaign to mislead certain communities. I take full responsibility to ensure that not a single provision is against any minority community. This is for the well being and security of every community in India,” Rijiju asserted.
The resolution was then passed amid sloganeering and ruckus.
(Edited by Nivedita Patil)
Also read: Why the FCRA Bill is an asset grab in disguise
What non-sense!
The RSS is subject to the exact same rules as everyone else when it comes to foreign funding or donations from abroad.
The law is not exclusively for the NGOs – it’s just as much for the RSS, VHP and others.
It’s shameful when senior Opposition leaders engage in such disinformation campaigns.