FCRA Bill: Saleng Sangma says JPC consultations may be futile

Tura MP Saleng A Sangma of the Congress has questioned whether the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act amendments will change anything, saying the government has already made up its mind.

Speaking in Shillong on Sunday, November 8, Sangma said the committee could hear objections and record recommendations, but the government would still have the final say on the Bill, The Shillong Times reported. He said the consultations with Christian groups, NGOs and other institutions risked becoming an exercise in appeasement rather than a real attempt to address their concerns.

His objections

Sangma alleged that the amendments would give authorities sweeping powers over bodies that receive foreign contributions, such as Christian-run schools, hospitals and charity homes. He claimed the provisions could allow properties to be seized and institutions' management taken over, possibly without the courts being involved.

He singled out the proposed Section 16A, pointing to clauses 3 and 6. He said even organisations that took small amounts of foreign help could be exposed.

The MP also suggested that contested clauses might simply be moved to other sections of the Bill rather than dropped. Because the Bill is long, he said, stakeholders could struggle to spot where the same powers had resurfaced.

He argued that the changes could affect constitutional protections under Articles 25 and 26 (freedom of religion and managing religious affairs), Articles 29 and 30 (minority cultural and educational rights) and Article 300A (right to property). These are his claims. The Centre has not responded to them, and the Bill is still before the committee.

Not against the existing law

Sangma said he was opposing the amendments, not the current FCRA. In his view, the existing law already deals with concerns about foreign funding and money laundering. He warned that the changes could paralyse institutions that rely on foreign help to run schools, hospitals and charities in remote areas where government services are thin.

He said he had been invited to take part in the committee's proceedings but doubted it would lead anywhere. He has since contacted church leaders across the North East and urged them to reject the Bill in its present form.

Background

The JPC examining the FCRA amendment Bill held a hearing in Shillong on November 2. It heard church bodies, NGOs and other groups from the region, and gave them 15 days to file written replies. Christian organisations in the North East run many schools, colleges and hospitals, and several have raised concerns about the Bill.