The referral of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has given the government a way out of an immediate political confrontation, but the Opposition is unlikely to have much say in the process, said The Federal‘s Political Editor Puneet Nicholas Yadav.
Puneet said that the government has increasingly bypassed the conventional route of standing and select committees in favour of JPCs, which are dominated and chaired by members of the ruling side.
‘Government overrules what Opposition says’
“JPCs have no meaning because the government anyway overrules anything that the Opposition says,” he said, citing the experience of the Waqf Amendment JPC and the ongoing panel on ‘One Nation, One Election’.
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The FCRA Bill could ordinarily have gone to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs. Instead, it has been referred to a 31-member JPC, comprising 21 Lok Sabha and 10 Rajya Sabha members. The panel will also be headed by a member of the ruling side, giving the Opposition little leverage.
“There is no guarantee” that the Opposition will participate in the JPC or that its views will be incorporated into the final Bill, he said, talking on The Federal‘s Capital Beat show.
The FCRA Bill has been opposed by Opposition parties and civil society groups, who have raised concerns over its sweeping provisions, including those relating to the seizure of assets allegedly created through the misuse of foreign contributions.
What next for Opposition
With Parliament’s Monsoon Session ending on Thursday (August 13), the Opposition’s challenge now shifts outside the House. He said it would have to take its objections to the people and keep the FCRA issue, along with the student protests and police crackdown, alive until the winter session and potentially the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
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The referral, he said, gives the government several months of political breathing space while leaving the Opposition with little scope to influence the Bill inside Parliament.
He said the repeated experience has contributed to a widening trust deficit between the government and the Opposition over the functioning of parliamentary committees.
Was there US pressure?
Speculation over whether the JPC move was influenced by US pressure remains unsubstantiated.
Calling suggestions of US pressure “conspiracy theories or speculation”, he said the immediate focus should be on the JPC’s next steps. The committee could either submit its report before the winter session or seek an extension, a possibility that has become common with parliamentary panels.
The referral, therefore, effectively pushes the FCRA controversy into the winter session, likely giving the government several months of relative quiet on the issue.
He said the political challenge now shifts to the Opposition, particularly on the student protests and police crackdown, as well as the controversy over alleged theft of Ayodhya Ram Temple donations.
With Parliament no longer providing an immediate forum for these issues, the Opposition will have to take them directly to the people and sustain the political narrative outside the House.
The Opposition, he argued, will now have to significantly step up its own efforts if it wants these issues to remain politically relevant.