K C Venugopal flags 'Problematic' JPC functioning, seeks rigorous scrutiny of FCRA Amendment Bill

New Delhi, Oct 1 (UNI) Congress general secretary K C Venugopal has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla raising concerns over what he described as the "problematic functioning" of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill, 2026, and questioned whether the panel had undertaken a comprehensive consultation and scrutiny process before finalising its recommendations.

In a post on social media platform X on Thursday, Venugopal said the legislation was "highly sensitive" and had "wide-ranging ramifications" for the constitutional rights of minorities and civil society groups. He said the JPC had been constituted to obtain inputs from relevant stakeholders and conduct a detailed examination of the proposed legislation before it is finalised for re-introduction in Parliament. "Today, we are concerned whether a comprehensive feedback and scrutiny process has been undertaken, and have written to the Speaker flagging the same," Venugopal said.

The Congress leader stressed that legislation emerging from a JPC should meet a high standard of scrutiny and be backed by an extensive consultation process. "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," he said. Venugopal further argued that failure to undertake such a process would defeat the very purpose of referring a Bill to a parliamentary committee.

"Without ensuring that, a JPC is a meaningless exercise, and a fraud on Parliament," he said. The FCRA framework regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions by individuals, associations and organisations in India. Amendments to the law can consequently have significant implications for civil society organisations and other entities that receive foreign contributions and operate under the regulatory framework.

The JPC mechanism is intended to facilitate detailed legislative scrutiny, including examination of provisions and consideration of views from relevant stakeholders, before a report is submitted to Parliament. Venugopal's intervention comes as the 2026 amendment Bill undergoes parliamentary examination.

By writing to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Venugopal has placed the Congress' concerns over the committee process on record and called for comprehensive, transparent and rigorous scrutiny before the proposed legislation returns to Parliament for consideration.

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