No meaningful stakeholder consultation in JPC on FCRA Bill: K.C. Venugopal
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker expressing concerns over the lack of meaningful stakeholder consultation regarding the FCRA Amendment Bill. He argues that the current accelerated timeline for the Joint Parliamentary Committee undermines the democratic process.
Why it matters
The FCRA Bill significantly impacts the operations of NGOs and civil society, making the transparency of its legislative process a matter of public interest.
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday (October 1, 2026) over the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill (FCRA), flagging concerns that "no meaningful consultation" with stakeholders is taking place and that there is an intention to have the Bill passed hastily in the forthcoming Winter session.
In his letter to Speaker Birla, Mr. Venugopal said if this is so, it would defeat the very purpose for which the House referred the Bill to the Committee, and reduce an important parliamentary process to a mere formality.
He urged the Speaker to ensure that the Committee invites written memoranda through public notice and hears oral evidence from all affected stakeholders.
He called for the Committee to be given adequate time for this exercise, including an extension of its reporting deadline if required, rather than being bound to an accelerated timeline.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in