Centre eyes consensus on sending foreign funding bill to JPC amid demands for complete withdrawal

Union home minister Amit Shah assured Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma that the FCRA laws will not be implemented retrospectively.

The government is trying to build consensus on referring the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for review amid continuing deadlock with the Opposition, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

A ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker said the government has heard concerns of political parties, Church representatives and non-government organisations about the provisions of the bill introduced in the Lok Sabha in March. (Sansad TV)

A ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker said the government has heard concerns of political parties, Church representatives and non-government organisations about the provisions of the bill introduced in the Lok Sabha in March. Union home minister Amit Shah assured Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma that the FCRA laws will not be implemented retrospectively.

“…We are in touch with parties and what we have gathered is that some are in favour of sending the bill to a JPC. The Congress and the TMC [Trinamool Congress] are against it…but discussions with other parties are ongoing,” said the BJP lawmaker and added the government is also reaching out to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to agree to a JPC.

The lawmaker said parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju is leading the outreach to the Opposition to agree to send the bill to the JPC. “There are several parties that have demanded scrapping the bill entirely. While some have concerns about specific provisions…now these can be examined and discussed in detail. The government has refuted the perception that the bill will adversely impact minorities or social organisations,” the lawmaker quoted above said.

Bill unlikely to be taken up this session

A second BJP leader said the monsoon session of Parliament will conclude on Friday and the chances of taking up the bill for discussion are bleak. But if there is consensus, the government can make a statement on sending it to a JPC, said the second leader.

BJD open to JPC scrutiny

A Biju Janata Dal lawmaker said the party is not averse to sending the bill to a JPC. “There are some issues that need to be addressed, such as administrative procedures and processes that should not create problems for organisations that work in the sectors of education or health care,” said the BJD lawmaker. “There should be scrutiny of international organisations that have opaque funding; those which divert funds meant for one particular purpose to another and those organisations that are involved in proselytisation… But if any organisation gets caught in administrative lapses and loses their licence, there has to be recourse for that.”

Church representatives meet Amit Shah

On Thursday, DMK lawmaker P Wilson led a delegation of Church representatives, who met Shah with a memorandum, specifying their concerns about the bill. The memorandum said the measure, which alters the incidents of ownership of charitable, educational, medical and religious property throughout the country, ought not to be carried through without the fullest pre-legislative scrutiny. It requested that the bill be referred to a JPC

The delegation said it preferred a JPC over a Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee, as the subject matter cuts across the concerns of ministries and no single departmental committee is placed to weigh them together.