TURA — Tura MP Saleng A. Sangma has questioned whether the Centre will actually listen to objections from Northeast leaders and other stakeholders over the proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, saying he has little confidence that the parliamentary scrutiny will change the legislation.
Speaking to reporters, Sangma said he had personally written to and met the Union Minister, the President and other leaders, while also asking delegates from the USA, South Korea, Australia, England, Mexico and African countries to appeal to the Indian government against the proposed amendments.
Calling the Bill “draconian”, Sangma focused on provisions he said could leave organisations vulnerable to government action even after decades of maintaining records and complying with requirements. “Even if you have complete documents from 60 years back, 70 years back, when the government says ‘no’, you cannot challenge that one in the court,” he said.
His strongest warning concerned institutions dependent on foreign funding. Sangma said churches, schools and other foreign-aided institutions could face the possibility of their assets being taken over if the government cancels their FCRA registration.
“If the BJP government comes tomorrow and they want to seize the entire institutions, either it be church, school, or any institution that is run by foreign aid, it can be seized and auctioned at any time,” he said.
Sangma also questioned the logic of offering assistance with FCRA registration while, according to him, certain provisions prevent affected organisations from challenging government decisions in court. “It’s a very funny actually, so that’s why it’s useless right now,” he said.
His concern extends to the 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the Bill, chaired by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal. The committee held its first meeting on September 18 and is scheduled to continue its scrutiny and stakeholder consultations. Sangma said Jaiswal was his friend but remained doubtful about how much weight the committee would give to objections. “For the sake of hearing, they might hear suggestions, but the conclusion will be I think they might just pass it,” he said.
He ended with an unusually blunt appeal to Christians. “Last time when we had the Christian meeting, I asked them to pray for this BJP and RSS,” Sangma said, explaining that he believed there was insufficient political strength to stop the Bill. “Only divine intervention can change their mindset.”
