Venugopal sees ‘hidden agenda’ behind move on FCRA Bill

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal, MP, has alleged that there is a hidden agenda behind the government’s attempt to introduce the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill in Parliament, at a time when all Opposition parties are busy with the Assembly elections.

Most of the Opposition MLAs are engaged in campaigning, with elections under way in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam. Ideally, under such circumstances, the Parliament session should not be convened. However, it seems that the government was in a hurry to present the FCRA Bill in the last few days of the session.

Mr. Venugopal stated that the Opposition will do everything possible to ensure that this Bill, which seeks to restrict all charitable activities carried out by NGOs and other voluntary organisations representing religious minorities, is not passed. The Congress is organising a strong protest against the Bill at the Centre, he added

He said that the Church had always played a lead role in carrying out various humanitarian activities in Kerala. They have been utilising foreign contributions to establish charitable institutions, schools and hospitals that serve all sections of society. The FCRA Bill would rein in all such activities. He added that the Bill was presented by the Centre in Parliament without any discussion in the Parliament’s Business Advisory Committee or with other political parties.

Chennithala’s stance

Meanwhile, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said that introducing the FCRA Bill in the Lok Sabha amid Assembly elections in various States is part of the attempt to pass the Bill without even discussion. Since elections were scheduled in States including Kerala, the Central government was of the view that a good percentage of MPs would not be able to participate in the Lok Sabha session, he said.

However, as Congress MPs participated in the session following Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion, the Centre sneaked away without presenting the Bill in the House. This proves that the protest of Congress MPs was effective, he added. Congress will raise major protests both inside and outside the House against the Bill. The struggle will continue until the amendment is withdrawn, he said.