New Delhi: The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, saw a sharp political divide on Wednesday, with the BJP defending the move as necessary for national security and transparency, while the Opposition alleged it will curb minority rights and tighten government control over NGOs.
Defending the amendments, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma rejected the Opposition’s charge that the bill targets minorities. “The government does not differentiate between minorities and majorities as the opposition does. National security is the government’s foremost priority,” he said.
“If foreign funds received by NGOs are used for protests against the government, or for media and social media misinformation, or to promote Naxalism, then it is certainly necessary for the government to impose restrictions in the interest of national security,” Sharma told mediapersons inside the Parliament House complex.
BJP MP Ghulam Ali Khatana accused the Congress of marginalising minorities. “They have pushed minorities to the margins, and now they try to frighten and intimidate them. They want to turn them into a vote bank,” he alleged.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not believe in appeasement. Everyone is a respected citizen. Any community, any NGO, as long as they work within the framework of the law, will get an opportunity to grow in the country,” he said.
Opposition parties, however, mounted a strong attack on the bill.
Several Opposition MPs led by the Congress staged a protest in the Parliament House complex on Wednesday against the Bill and demanded that the proposed legislation be withdrawn.
Displaying a huge banner with ‘Stop Targeting NGOs and Institutions’ written on it, the MPs raised slogans against the government and demanded the withdrawal of the Bill.
Several Congress MPs, SP’s Dimple Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav, IUML’s ET Mohammad Basheer, NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule and RSP’s NK Premchandran, among others, participated in the protest.
Congress MP Manish Tewari termed the amendments “unconstitutional”.
“When the FCRA Amendment Bill was introduced, I had opposed it on the first principle of constitutionalism. It is arbitrary, malafide, and capricious. It does not measure on the touchstone of constitutionality,” he said.
He added that it offends Articles 14 (equality before the law), 19 (guarantees six fundamental freedoms), and 300A (No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law) of the Constitution, and therefore it needs to be strongly opposed.
Congress MP Hibi Eden said his party will oppose the bill, arguing that existing provisions are already stringent.
“Congress will strongly oppose the Bill. The 2014 amendment itself imposed a lot of restrictions. If somebody is getting benefit in education and orphanages, should the government target such charities?” he said.
“It is unfortunate that an organisation founded by the late Mother Teresa had its FCRA registration cancelled in 2021,” Eden added.
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the government’s legislative approach has not benefited common people.
“Whatever bills this government brings will be against the people of the country. All the bills introduced so far have either favoured some capitalists or served the interests of certain groups, but not a single bill has benefited the common people to date. Not even one,” he said.
“In the name of regulating them, they will collect funds from them and then show selectively where work has been done and what has been achieved through them,” he added.
SP MP Dimple Yadav alleged that the bill is aimed at tightening control over institutions.
“This FCRA bill amendment is being brought so that government institutions and non-government institutions function according to the government’s will. I believe that through this, the government is trying to tighten its grip on institutions that are doing good work. What is being done is not democratic,” she said.
The bill to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, with the government making it clear that individuals engaging in forced religious conversion through foreign funding will not be spared.
Introducing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai had said that the legislation aims to enhance transparency and ensure proper utilisation of funds received from abroad.
On Tuesday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the FCRA Amendment Bill only seeks to stop the use of foreign funding against national security and interests and not to target any religious organisation.
