The Opposition is gearing up to resist the Centre's Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which is expected in Parliament this week. The amendment would reportedly strengthen the government's control over foreign-funded assets in case organisations lose their registration.
Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition intends to block the government's FCRA move and a decision in this regard will be taken on Monday. "We will make a decision tomorrow after convening an all-party meeting, specifically of floor leaders."
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Speaking against the FCRA Bill, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said one cannot always view foreign funding with suspicion. Sule opposed the current form of the bill and called for its withdrawal. "If the government is not ready to withdraw the bill, then it should send it to a JPC," she further said.
Cong issues whip in Parliament
The party, anticipating the tabling of "very important" matters, issued a whip to its MPs in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha to ensure their presence in Parliament on August 10, 11 and 12. Congress asked all INDIA bloc allies to ensure that their MPs remain present on the three days, news agency PTI reported.
{{/usCountry}}The party, anticipating the tabling of "very important" matters, issued a whip to its MPs in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha to ensure their presence in Parliament on August 10, 11 and 12. Congress asked all INDIA bloc allies to ensure that their MPs remain present on the three days, news agency PTI reported.
{{/usCountry}}However, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs has not mentioned the FCRA amendment bill in the tentative government business for next week.
What is FCRA Bill 2026?
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 seeks to make amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, which regulate foreign donations received by individuals, associations and organisations. According to official records, as seen on July 15 this year, there were 14,449 FCRA active registrations while 22,498 stood cancelled and 15,212 had expired, news agency ANI reported.
The FCRA Bill proposes to set up a 'designated authority' which will take control of the foreign contributions in case an entity's FCRA registration stands cancelled, surrendered or lapsed.
The assets created out of such foreign funds will initially come under the control of the 'designated authority' and may subsequently be transferred entirely if the entity fails to reacquire its registration within a specified period. The authority will also hold the power to manage assets and monitor the activities of such entities if required.
Points of contention in FCRA bill
There has been contention over three sections of the FCRA Bill - Section 14B, Section 16A and Section 16B, the .
Section 14B, which talks about "cessation" of an FCRA certificate, specifies that a certificate will be considered to have ceased if an entity does not apply for renewal, is refused renewal or it expires without being renewed.
Section 16A proposes that the foreign funds received by the organisation, whose certification has ceased, and its assets will be vested in a Designated Authority.
The third issue of contention is Section 16B, which would allow the new framework to be applied on assets already vested under the earlier law. This raises fears of adverse impact on organisations whose FCRA registrations lapsed years ago, but are now functioning on domestic funds.
Why Oppn is against FCRA bill?
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal called the FCRA bill 'completely unconstitutional' and expressed fears that the new legislation could hurt NGOs and community groups, particularly those run by minorities. He called it a deliberate attempt to intimidate and control organisations, particularly Christian groups in Kerala. The bill, he said, would tighten the noose over voluntary and social service organisations.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien termed the bill 'draconian' and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against it. He said the proposed law could lead to "excessive executive control" of NGOs and other organisations working in education and healthcare sectors.
Mizoram Congress held protest in Aizawl on July 21 with its senior vice-president Lalnunmawia Chuaungo alleging that the FCRA bill would make it more difficult to obtain FCRA certification or seek legal remedies in case applications were rejected.
Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma on Thursday met Union home minister Amit Shah to present recommendations and register regional concerns regarding the FCTA. Shah also met members and representatives of the Christian community, who have raised objections to provisions of the bill.
DMK president MK Stalin urged the Centre to withdraw the FCRA Amendment Bill and repeal Section 15 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
In Kerala, the Catholic Church has also voiced concerns over the proposed amendments to the existing FCRA law.