Guwahati: The Lok Sabha on August 12 approved a motion to send the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination, amid protests by Opposition MPs who sought withdrawal of the proposed legislation.
Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, moved the motion. The JPC will have 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. Speaker Om Birla will nominate the Lok Sabha members, while Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan will nominate the members from the Upper House. The panel has been directed to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session in 2026.
The decision was taken amid Opposition sloganeering in the House, with several MPs also seeking the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Congress MP K C Venugopal questioned the timing of the decision, saying the Opposition had only recently been informed about the proposal to send the bill to a JPC. He alleged that the legislation could be used against minorities and non-governmental organisations and called for its withdrawal.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rejected the charge, saying Opposition parties had previously sought parliamentary scrutiny of the bill. He said members could raise their concerns before the JPC and maintained that the proposed legislation was not directed at any particular community.
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was chairing the proceedings, said the government had accepted the demand for a JPC examination, which would allow the proposed changes to be discussed in detail.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the Opposition was united in its opposition to the bill and questioned why Amit Shah was not present in the House. Responding to Rijiju’s assertion that the bill was not aimed at minorities, Yadav questioned whether any legislation introduced by the government could be described as free from such concerns.
DMK MP T R Baalu also called for the bill to be withdrawn.
Rijiju responded by challenging the Opposition to identify any specific provision in the proposed legislation that discriminates against minorities. He accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation and argued that the law was intended to establish regulatory safeguards rather than target any community.
Introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, the FCRA Amendment Bill seeks to strengthen government oversight of foreign contributions received by organisations in India. One of its key proposals is the creation of a designated authority empowered to manage and dispose of assets belonging to organisations whose Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration is cancelled.
Opposition parties have expressed concern that some provisions could adversely affect legitimate foreign funding received by Christian organisations and minority-run educational and social welfare institutions. The Centre has maintained that the proposed amendments are religion-neutral and aimed at improving regulation of foreign contributions.
The bill has also faced reservations in parts of the Northeast. Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had earlier urged the Centre to refer the legislation to a JPC. At the same time, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had also voiced concerns over certain provisions.
Some lawmakers in the United States have criticised the proposed changes, citing their possible impact on Christian organisations and civil society groups. India has rejected the criticism, maintaining that changes to its domestic laws are an internal legislative matter.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha also took up the report of an inquiry committee that examined allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, who faces removal proceedings following the reported discovery of unaccounted cash at his official residence.
Proceedings in the House were disrupted by continued sloganeering, with NDA MPs, including BJP leader Nishikant Dubey, raising allegations of cash being exchanged for question papers in connection with a controversy surrounding alleged examination irregularities in Jharkhand.