NEW DELHI: Conveying “deep concern” over “unfettered” power to ‘Designated Authority’ proposed under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2026, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the draft legislation.
CPM general secretary MA Baby, in his letter to Modi, said that the proposed amendments cross the threshold from reasonable regulation to excessive control, enabling executive overreach.
“We are compelled to register our strongest objections to the provisions contained in this Bill. We demand, in the interest of constitutional morality and democratic principles, that the government immediately rescind this legislation,” Baby’s letter read.
The Left party leader stated that the creation of a powerful ‘Designated Authority’ empowered to take over, manage, and dispose of assets created out of foreign funds by NGOs-- whose registration has been suspended, canceled, or not renewed-- is an extreme provision that threatens the very existence of civil society organisations.
He said that the proposed blanket takeover makes no provision for the protection of locally sourced assets.
“Granting the executive the power to permanently vest such assets, without adequate judicial oversight amounts to a punitive measure that goes far beyond the scope of regulatory oversight,” Baby also wrote.
Citing the provision which mandates the state government to take prior approval from the Union Government to initiate any FCRA-related investigation, the CPM leader said that it undermines the federal structure enshrined in our Constitution.
“Law enforcement and the maintenance of public order are concurrent subjects; imposing a central veto on state investigative powers centralises power that is antithetical to federalism…The Bill vests immense discretionary powers in the ‘Designated Authority’ without prescribing adequate safeguards against misuse. This creates an environment of fear where organisations working in areas such as human rights, environmental protection, and minority welfare may find themselves targeted not for violations of law, but for dissent against government policies,” Baby also said.
Referring to the number of registration of organisations cancelled by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he added that the FCRA is increasingly perceived not as a tool for regulation, but as a political weapon to silence dissent and harass organisations that question government policies.
“The Bill places minority institutions under an excessively stringent regulatory framework, raising serious concerns about undue interference in their functioning. Provisions that allow the government to deny renewal or cancel licenses and assume control over the funds and properties of these institutions are a direct threat to constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, including the right to manage religious and linguistic minority institutions,” he also wrote.
Seeking immediate withdrawal of the Bill, he urged the PM to ensure that any future regulatory framework is in line with constitutional guarantees of freedom of association and expression. He also demanded wide-ranging consultations with civil society, minority institutions, and legal experts before introducing any further amendments to the FCRA.
