HYDERABADThe All India Christian Council has welcomed the Central Government’s decision to refer the controversial Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). However, the apex body maintained that its core stance, alongside Opposition parties and civil society groups, remains an absolute demand for the total withdrawal of the legislation.In an official statement released in Hyderabad, Archbishop Joseph D’Souza, president of the All India Christian Council, stated that while the referral acknowledges that a Bill of this magnitude should not be rushed through during disrupted parliamentary sessions, the fundamental objections to its clauses remain entirely unanswered.The council raised intense concern over the ‘vesting’ provisions of the Bill. Under the proposed law, a new designated authority would be empowered to seize and administer properties, including schools, hospitals, and hostels, if an organisation’s FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered, or delayed on a government portal. Archbishop D’Souza termed these measures extraordinary and punitive.“No civilised legal system converts an administrative lapse into the forfeiture of assets,” he stated, warning that prominent institutions like the Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore could face State takeover due to mere bureaucratic delays.The report highlights that since 2014, over 20,000 FCRA registrations have been cancelled or refused renewal, heavily impacting historic service bodies such as World Vision India and the Missionaries of Charity.The council argued that these institutions were built over centuries through global and local sacrifices to heal and educate India’s poorest Dalit and Adivasi communities, not via the Union Budget.Urging the JPC to hold extensive, transparent public consultations, Archbishop D’Souza appealed to the Prime Minister to halt the choking of the voluntary sector and instead collaborate with Christian medical and educational bodies to address the country’s deep deficit in rural healthcare and schooling. Published - August 13, 2026 07:01 pm IST