New Delhi: A 31-member Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) has been formed to examine the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, and the move is the next stage of legislative scrutiny of the contentious legislation, said officials.
According to a Lok Sabha bulletin issued on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Bihar’s Bettiah, Sanjay Jaiswal, has been appointed Chairperson of the joint parliamentary panel. The committee, constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, comprises 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
The panel has been tasked with examining the provisions of the proposed FCRA amendment and considering changes before the Bill proceeds further through Parliament.
The committee includes 14 BJP members and five Congress members. The representation also includes two members each from the Janata Dal-United, the Trinamool Congress, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The Samajwadi Party, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Telugu Desam Party have one member each.
Among the BJP members from the Lok Sabha are Bhartruhari Mahtab, Tejasvi Surya, Kamlesh Jangde, Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal, Nishikant Dubey, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Ananta Nayak, and Arvind Dharmapuri.
The Congress is represented by Anto Antony, Captain Viriato Fernandes, Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed, and Kali Charan Munda.
The Bill was referred to a joint committee on August 12 amid strong opposition protests. Opposition parties had alleged that the proposed changes could adversely affect minorities and non-governmental organisations and had demanded that the legislation be withdrawn.
The government, however, rejected the allegations, asserting that the proposed amendments do not discriminate against minorities. It also challenged opposition parties to identify any provision in the Bill that amounted to such discrimination.
(IANS)
