NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Wednesday referred the controversial FCRA bill to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) amid opposition protests that called the legislation a BJP design to target minorities and demanded it be junked altogether. MPs K C Venugopal, Akhilesh Yadav and T R Baalu spoke for the bill’s withdrawal.Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill will be scrutinised by the panel comprising LS and RS members, with the deadline for submission of the report being the first week of winter session.‘Foreign money can’t just be brought to India sans laws’ Congress’s K C Venugopal demanded govt withdraw the FCRA bill. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said Congress and other parties have demanded important bills should be referred to JPC or other panels, and those opposed to the bill can put their views before JPC.He said there is no question of targeting any minority community and the bill is designed to bolster national security. He claimed there is a campaign to mislead certain minority communities.Questioning Rijiju’s claim, SP chief Akhilesh said the minister should name one bill of Modi govt that has not been anti-minority. He asserted entire opposition is against the bill. In retaliation, Rijiju challenged Akhilesh to show one provision in FCRA that is against minorities.
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The minister said foreign money cannot just be brought to India without laws. “This country is not a banana republic,” he said.As the motion for JPC was moved, Congress MPs led by Hibi Eden, Shafi Parambil, Benny Behanan, raised demand for the junking of the bill, with their slogans adding to the din of opposition protests over NEET crackdown and Ram temple donation theft.The decision to refer the bill to JPC was made by a voice vote.
