NEW DELHI: Describing the amendments to FCRA rules as designed “not to regulate but to strangulate” independent civil society, Congress leader KC Venugopal Thursday wrote to PM Narendra Modi demanding that they be withdrawn.Venugopal called the recently notified rules an “overt and systemic assault on India’s civil society”, warning that they would financially and operationally cripple NGOs that render critical services to marginalised communities.CPM MP John Brittas wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah demanding that the rules be withdrawn.Venugopal said the rules had been amended to make up for withdrawal of the FCRA bill in Budget session of Parliament. “If accepted, they will convert independent civil society into a terrified govt-controlled echo chamber,” he added.The Congress MP particularly criticised the rules that require NGOs to select their activities from a rigid, govt-mandated list and restrict their operational geography. He said levying a separate fee for every additional state or category was “nothing short of an administrative toll tax designed to discourage pan-India social work”. Brittas objected to the introduction of the term “proselytisation” in the schedule related to religious activities, saying it was not defined in FCRA or the amended rules. He slammed the expansion in disclosure requirements for FCRA-registered organisations which will go beyond financial accountability and create an “extensive compliance and surveillance architecture”
