31-member parliamentary panel to review FCRA Bill

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) adopted a motion referring the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliament Committee (JPC), amid a huge uproar by the Opposition which demanded that the Bill be withdrawn completely as it was intended to target minority institutions.

The motion to refer the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to a 31-member JPC was added into the List of Business of the Lok Sabha through a supplementary list just before the House was supposed to reconvene at 2 p.m., after being adjourned within minutes at 11 a.m. Though Union Home Minister Amit Shah was listed to move the motion, it was Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai who actually placed it before the House.

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The Opposition has been demanding that Mr. Shah should be present in the House and make a statement on last month’s police action against protesting students in Delhi.

JPC report by Winter Session

The FCRA JPC will have 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. While the Lok Sabha MPs will be nominated by Speaker Om Birla, those from the Rajya Sabha will be nominated by Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan.

The committee has to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament this year.

‘Targeting minorities’

Before the motion was adopted, senior Congress MP K.C. Venugopal said that the proposed legislation is clearly targeting NGOs, especially those run by minority communities, and demanded that the Bill be withdrawn.

“On the one hand, the RSS is collecting donations from foreign countries, and on the other the government is targeting NGOs. The government should withdraw the Bill,” he said.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav also demanded the withdrawal of the Bill, saying the entire Opposition was against it. “[Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren] Rijiju-ji should clarify which Bill they brought till date that was not against minorities,” he said. The DMK’s T.R. Baalu also demanded that the Bill be withdrawn.

Amidst the Opposition uproar, Mr. Rijiju dared them to show a single clause in the Bill that was against minorities. “If Venugopal or any MPs have reservations about the Bill, they can raise it in the JPC. They will get enough time. This is not targeted at any minority community. I thought they would welcome sending it to a joint committee instead of opposing it,” he said. “I challenge Akhilesh ji to show one provision which is against minorities. Lies are being spread in the country. There should be rules,” the Union Minister added.

‘Country wants House to function’

The FCRA Amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, but was not taken up for passage during the Budget Session. The Bill proposes to create a designated authority to manage and dispose of assets if an organisation loses its FCRA licence, which the Opposition claimed could affect legitimate foreign funding for Christian NGOs and other minority-run social welfare and educational institutions.

After a brief adjournment following the adoption of the motion, was adopted, the Lok Sabha again re-assembled at 3 p.m. and passed the Mines and Minerals Bill without any discussion.

Earlier, in the morning, the Lok Sabha Speaker appealed to the Opposition to allow the House to function, stressing that it was not right for them to tarnish the image of the House by holding protests and shouting slogans. Mr. Birla told protesting MPs that even if their approach and thoughts differ from the ruling front, the country wants the House to function.