The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act were India’s “internal affairs”, three days after a United States Congressman raised concerns about the move.Registration under the Act is mandatory for non-profit organisations to receive foreign funds. A key provision of the draft legislation allows the Union government to take control of a non-governmental organisation’s foreign funds and assets if its FCRA registration lapses or is cancelled.On Tuesday, Riley Moore, a Republican representative from West Virginia, criticised the proposed amendments, claiming that the Indian Parliament was trying to take control of churches and religious charities.“Christians have been in India since St Thomas the Apostle travelled to the Malabar Coast just decades after the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Moore said on social media.Despite this long history, India’s Parliament is considering amending the rules “to permit government takeovers of churches and religious charities”, he alleged.He said that the bill would be “a clear attack against Christians” and claimed the move could hurt relations between Washington and New Delhi.The bill was introduced in Parliament in March during the Budget Session but has not been cleared by either of the Houses.On Friday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that “legislative matters concerning India are our internal affairs on which decisions are taken by the Parliament of the country”.He added that several countries, including the US, regulate the flow of foreign funds.The proposed changesUnder the proposed framework, foreign funds and assets will provisionally vest in a government-appointed “designated authority”. If the organisation fails to regain registration, this control would become permanent. The authority would then be empowered to use, transfer or dispose of these assets for “public purposes”.The provision applies to all institutions, not just churches. The proposed amendment specifies that the religious character of the place of worship would be preserved.Opposition MPs have opposed the proposed law, describing it as “dangerous” and “draconian”. Civil society groups have also criticised the bill, saying that the changes would expand state control over NGOs.Between 2016-’17 and 2021-’22, more than 6,600 NGOs lost their FCRA licences, the government had told Parliament in December 2022. In 2023, it informed Parliament that 13,520 registered non-profit organisations had received more than Rs 55,700 crore in foreign contributions between 2019-’20 and 2021-’22.Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.