CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar on Wednesday said that the reported retreat of the Union Government on the proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) is not a change of heart but a temporary tactical withdrawal forced by sustained resistance from the Left, other MPs from Keralam, and the vigilant democratic opinion of the people of Keralam.
He pointed out that the proposed changes were fundamentally anti-democratic, seeking to vest sweeping and opaque powers in the central executive to take over and control institutions, assets, and activities of organisations, many of them run by minority communities.
Drawing parallels with the amendments to the Waqf framework, which the CPI has opposed tooth and nail and challenged before the Supreme Court, he placed comprehensive data on FCRA before Parliament.
He further underlined that attempting to push through such a far-reaching Bill when MPs are in their constituencies due to elections reflects a calculated disregard for parliamentary norms and democratic accountability.
Sandosh Kumar said that “this is a brazen attempt to centralise authority and expand political control over civil society under the guise of regulation. It is part of BJP’s ideological project of targeting minorities and capturing autonomous institutions. The present pause is driven not by principle but by electoral pressure and mass opposition, particularly in Keralam.”
He also condemned the divisive remarks made by a senior BJP leader and candidate against senior Church leadership, calling them reflective of the party’s anti-minority posture.
He asserted that the people of Keralam have seen through this design and warned that any attempt to reintroduce such measures will be met with resolute resistance, both politically and legally, to defend constitutional values, institutional autonomy, and the secular fabric of the Republic.