Political storm over the Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, gathered momentum on Wednesday, with Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal launching a major attack against the center. Venugopal referred to the proposed bill as ‘anti-constitutional,’ stating that the government aims to target Christian communities, minority groups, and NGOs through the implementation of the new amendments.
The senior leader of the Congress party, Venugopal, showed no qualms in assuring that the Congress will create a dual front to oppose the bill: both from within Parliament and through organised protests by the party outside of Parliament.
‘Penalising good work’ – Venugopal’s allegations
Venugopal asserted that this bill was never about transparency, as claimed by the government, but rather it was targeting civil society through legislative means alone and not through actual changes to the law.
“NGOs that are doing good work for people of India are being penalised by this law,” he said to ANI. “We will not allow this law to be passed; this bill will be anti-minority, and we will fight it at all costs.”
Venugopal expressed his belief that the provisions giving the government power to take control of foreign-funded assets will have a dramatic negative impact on the minority and community-based institutions.
Kerala’s political crisis
As the Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill passes through both houses of Parliament (and the process continues), the political climate in the state of Kerala has grown increasingly tense. In the past few weeks, multiple leaders from both the Indian National Congress party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have expressed their views on the bill. Both parties have expressed strong disapproval of the union government’s actions regarding this bill.
Concerns about minority communities
Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan raised concerns that this amendment has created an atmosphere of insecurity for many of India’s minority communities.
Call to correct
The chief minister echoed the sentiments of many religious and political organisations across the country in asking the central government to make corrections to the recently passed amendment and cautioned that the current direction taken by the central government could alienate large portions of our country’s social fabric.
Political jousting
In spite of their mutual opposition to this bill, a divide still exists between the two political parties in Kerala (Congress and CPI(M)). For example, Chief Minister Vijayan called into question the consistency of Congress states’ stance on issues important to minorities. He stated, “Has Congress clarified its position? It continues to be stuck in its old ‘soft Hindutva’ mode and has not, as of late, shown any urgency in defending minority interests.”
Legislative drama
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill was introduced on March 25, 2023, at midnight and will be discussed and voted on for passage today in the Lok Sabha. The union government maintains its point of view that this bill is important for protecting the security and integrity of the nation and for providing increased accountability for foreign contributions received by (or on behalf of) charities.
