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Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla raising concerns over what he termed the problematic functioning of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, and sought a wider consultation process with stakeholders.
In a post on X, Venugopal said, "Wrote to the Hon'ble Lok Sabha Speaker regarding the problematic functioning of the JPC on the FCRA (Amendment) Bill, 2026. As is well known, this is a highly sensitive Bill with wide-ranging ramifications on the Constitutional rights of minorities and civil society groups. The JPC was intended to seek inputs from all relevant stakeholders, and do a thorough scrutiny of the draft Bill before it is finalised for re-introduction. Today, we are concerned whether a comprehensive feedback and scrutiny process has been undertaken, and have written to the Speaker flagging the same. We believe that any Bill that emerges out of a JPC should be flawless, and Parliament should be assured that it has passed through a rigorous consultation process. Without ensuring that, a JPC is a meaningless exercise, and a fraud about the Parliament." In his letter, Venugopal urged the Speaker to ensure that the committee undertakes a rigorous consultation process, including written submissions and oral evidence from NGOs, charitable institutions, religious bodies, voluntary organisations, legal experts and state governments. Venugopal also sought adequate time for clause-by-clause deliberations, saying that Parliament should be assured that the legislation had undergone detailed examination before being considered by the House. The FCRA Amendment Bill was referred to a 31-member JPC on August 12 for detailed scrutiny. The committee has been asked to submit its report before the Winter Session of Parliament. The Congress leader's concerns come amid demands from several JPC members for more time to examine the legislation and obtain public feedback. Opposition members have sought postponement of the committee's October 12 meeting by at least four weeks and requested that the period for receiving comments and representations from stakeholders also be extended to four weeks. DMK MP P Wilson has separately sought that the committee invite objections as well as suggestions from stakeholders, arguing that the seven-day window was inadequate for organisations and experts to prepare detailed submissions. The JPC has already held discussions with officials and experts as part of its examination of the Bill. According to officials who briefed the panel, there are currently 14,440 active FCRA accounts. Venugopal said a JPC would serve little purpose without a rigorous consultation process and urged the Speaker to ensure comprehensive scrutiny before the Bill is taken up by Parliament. (ANI)
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