Opposition members are demanding that the FCRA panel hold wider consultations across the country

Parliament’s joint committee reviewing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2026 met 25 organizations in a single day on Thursday (12 November 2026) as it rushes to finalize its report in time for the upcoming session of Parliament, which is likely to start on 30 November.

In a letter to the panel’s chairman and BJP leader Sanjay Jaiswal, the opposition members said the committee should hold wider consultations with stakeholders across the country, arguing that the effects of the bill would be felt most acutely at the level of individual parishes, schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages and welfare homes.

“The vast majority of these stakeholders do not have the means or a realistic opportunity to travel to Delhi and present their views to the committee,” the opposition members wrote. The letter was signed by six members — P. Wilson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; Congress’s Christopher Tilak, Captain Viriato Fernandes and Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed; and from the Samajwadi Party, Zia Ur Rehman Barq and Javed Ali Khan.

Competing arguments

Among those invited to Thursday’s meeting were the National Council of Churches in India and other Christian organizations, which strongly opposed the legislation, saying it would hinder their charity work. At least five RSS-affiliated organizations were also invited to present their views. They argued in favor of the legislation, calling it a key step to regulate foreign financing.

Christian groups argued that in the name of stricter monitoring of foreign funding, many vulnerable groups receiving support from charities would be denied aid. They also argued that it interfered with their religious freedom. Opposition members have asked Christian groups to submit details of the charities they run that are dependent on foreign funding.

RSS-affiliated organizations have demanded tougher provisions, including listing FCRA violations as a scheduled offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), a core criminal law aimed at combating terrorist financing and money laundering.

Apostolic Methodist Church, National Council of Churches in India, Evangelical Church of India, Jesus Redeems, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad and Rashtriya Sewa Bharati were among those who submitted their views to the committee. Opposition members questioned how the invited RSS-affiliated groups qualified as stakeholders.

The bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on March 25 this year and referred to a committee on August 12 following consistent demands from opposition parties who argued that certain provisions of the legislation were highly objectionable.

Published – 13 Nov 2026 22:30 IST