The Catholic body met Amit Shah and raised concerns about the FCRA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah. File | Photo credit: ANI

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) on Friday (July 10, 2026) submitted a memorandum opposing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to Home Minister Amit Shah, said Jonathan Lalremruata, adviser to the apex body of the Catholic Church in India.

Cardinal Anthony Poola, Metropolitan Archbishop of Hyderabad and CBCI President, and Anil Couto, Metropolitan Archbishop of Delhi were present at the meeting.

“We appreciate that the Minister took the meeting seriously as the Union Home Minister and officials of the Ministry’s FCRA Division were also present,” said Mr. Lalremruata.

The CBCI has sought an audience with the Home Secretary to raise concerns over the provisions of the FCRA Amendment Act and Rules, 2026, announced on June 22. The rules direct NGOs to specify a list of activities they can carry out under five permitted categories – social, political, educational, cultural and religious, as well as indicate the geographical area where they will operate.

The rules permit 16 categories of religious activities, “the conduct of religious education, moral instruction, satsangs, discourses and meditation retreats,” but specifically prohibit “proselytization.” CBCI, in its memorandum, said that the term should be dropped as it has no relevance to FCRA activities and without a definition, it is bound to be misused.

“The inclusion of such words amounts to degrading the well-intentioned charitable, educational, health and humanitarian services provided by religious organizations. All such compassionate and charitable activities are aimed only at nation-building and public welfare and should not be misconstrued as an act of religious conversion,” the CBCI said.

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, but its discussion and passage was delayed following an uproar from opposition parties. One of the key changes proposed in the bill is the appointment of a “designated authority” to take over, manage or dispose of assets generated from foreign funds when an NGO’s FCRA registration is suspended, canceled or not renewed. This body will have the powers of a civil court and can order the transfer or sale of property owned by NGOs to either the government or another body.

The CBCI opposed the provision saying it could be applied retrospectively. Its memorandum states that the taking of the property should take effect only after the completion of the legal process, including a statutory appeal to the regular court.

“Violations of the law should be differentiated into minor and serious. Technical violations or violations of low financial value should be considered less serious and should not be subject to the heavy penalty of cancellation of registration/renewal or confiscation/freeze of property,” the CBCI said.

Reacting to the meeting, Congress General Secretary (Organizations) KC Venugopal called out X and said, “In typical BJP style, HM Amit Shah has lied to the CBCI about the FCRA and is wrongly deflecting blame to hide his government’s culpability in weaponizing the FCRA laws. He said the Narendra Modi government is “determined to use the FCRA to harass vocal civil society organizations and minority-run institutions and take over their properties”.

Registration under FCRA is mandatory for receiving foreign funds.

“In 2026, they first tried to amend the FCRA legislation to give the Center powers to seize the assets of recipient organisations, and also introduced provisions for ‘deemed suspension’ of licences. After widespread opposition, they withdrew these changes, only to re-introduce them through the back door as delegated legislation. In these new rules, they also prevent organizations from changing their ideology and make it impossible to control those who bring in work. I urge the Minister interior to show whether any of these untrustworthy, vindictive measures were part of the FCRA in 2010 when they were introduced by the UPA. These are all measures introduced by a fascist regime that wants to destroy the civil society space with its harsh and regressive control,” the Congress chief said.

Published – 10 Jul 2026 22:59 IST