FCRA Bill: Mayawati says govt, Opposition playing politics

BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday accused both the government and the Opposition of politicising the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, and said the Opposition should have highlighted the Bill's shortcomings during its introduction instead of disrupting proceedings.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the government had sought to get the "important" Bill passed quickly, but amid strong Opposition protests it was referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Wednesday without an initial discussion in Parliament.

The Lok Sabha had sent the Bill to a 31-member joint committee amid protests by opposition parties, which alleged that the proposed legislation targets minorities and NGOs and demanded its withdrawal. The government has rejected the charge and said the Bill is aimed at regulating foreign contributions and is not religion-specific.

Mayawati said the Congress and its allies were calling the Bill "anti-minority" and demanding its withdrawal, while the government was seeking stricter provisions citing alleged corruption in the use of foreign funds.

"This makes it clear that both the government and the Opposition have politicised the Bill more," she said on X.

Mayawati said the Opposition should have allowed Parliament to function and highlighted the Bill's shortcomings during its introduction instead of disrupting proceedings.

"It would have been better if the Opposition had allowed Parliament to function when the Bill was introduced yesterday and highlighted its shortcomings, so that the entire country would have come to know about them," she said.

She alleged that several other Bills had also been passed "within minutes" because of disruptions and claimed that the government was benefiting politically from the situation.

The BSP chief also accused the Opposition of failing to raise in Parliament the alleged irregularities in donations to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying the issue required discussion.

She further said the Opposition should give priority to issues concerning Gen Z while also focusing on other matters of public interest.

The FCRA Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, proposes tighter government oversight of NGOs and foreign funding. It also seeks to create a designated authority to manage and dispose of assets if an organisation loses its FCRA licence.

The JPC, comprising 21 Lok Sabha and 10 Rajya Sabha members, has been asked to submit its report by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament in 2026.