The government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, allowing it to seize and manage assets of NGOs whose FCRA licences are cancelled, suspended, or not renewed.
The proposed law also reduces the maximum imprisonment for violation of foreign funding laws from five years to one year and fixes timelines for the utilisation of foreign funds.
Opposition parties have termed the bill as draconian and argued that it gives sweeping power to the executive without constitutional safeguards.
Senior advocate Tanveer Ahmad Mir called the amended provisions 'oppressive' and said the intent of the government is to prevent human rights organisations and those critical of the government from receiving foreign funds.
