Greenpeace has termed Government’s decision to freeze its funds and accounts as an act of arm-twisting and said that it will not only challenge the Ministry of Home Affairs in courts, but also continue to campaign on the issues it works on. “It is the Government using strong arm tactics to clamp down on dissenting voices in civil society. We have been vindicated in our position more than once in the courts,” the NGO said in a statement, while adding that it believes this is an escalation of the intimidation campaign by Government that started with a ‘leaked’ Intelligence Bureau report in June last year.
“We work in India to ensure that this generation and future generations have clean air, safe food, standing forests, community rights are implemented and the threat of climate change is addressed. We will continue to work on this,” GP said. GP also clarified that even though its finances will be impacted for the time being since GP India’s permission to receive money from overseas is currently suspended “it does not mean that GP India itself has been shut down or will have to shut down”.
“GP India gets nearly 70 per cent of its income from domestic donations and will continue to operate on those funds even as it fights the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act suspension,” the group said. Greenpeace India claimed it raises majority of its funding from Indians — about Rs20.76 crore was donated by 77,768 Indians in 2014-15.
It also denied having any political affiliations. “Greenpeace does not endorse any political party or candidates, nor does it donate money to or accept money from political parties. We do brief all political parties and their representatives on the issues that we work on,” it said.