Civil society organisations on Thursday urged President Ram Nath Kovind not to sign the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020, The Indian Express reported. The groups said the law demonises them and questioned the way the ordinance was rushed through Parliament without any pre-legislative public consultations.
The legislation, which lays down conditions under which civil society organisations can receive funds from abroad, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and the Lok Sabha a day earlier. Under the FCRA Act, certain persons are prohibited from accepting any foreign contribution. In its latest amendments, the Centre has added the category of “public servant” to it.
Besides this, the bill asks all key functionaries to furnish their Aadhaar cards.
The bill also reduces the limit of usable foreign contribution for administrative expenses from the…