14 August,2026 08:36 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule. File Pic
NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule on Friday urged the Centre to ensure that legitimate overseas donations to educational and social organisations are not obstructed under the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
While speaking to PTI, Sule said the government should not rush through the proposed legislation and demanded that all political parties be taken into confidence.
The Lok Sabha has sent the FCRA Bill to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) amid protests by Opposition parties, which alleged that the proposed legislation targets minorities and NGOs and demanded its withdrawal.
The government has rejected the charge, saying the Bill is aimed at regulating foreign contributions and is not religion-specific.
Sule said the government should take strict action if foreign funds were illegal or constituted 'dirty money'. However, she said legitimate funding for polio vaccination, healthcare, education, and the welfare of poor and working-class families should not be viewed with suspicion, reported PTI.
The FCRA Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, proposes tighter government oversight of NGOs and foreign funding. It also seeks to create a designated authority to manage and dispose of assets if an organisation loses its FCRA licence.
The JPC, comprising 21 Lok Sabha and 10 Rajya Sabha members, has been asked to submit its report by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament in 2026.
Sule also expressed concern over the condition of old ashram schools in Maharashtra, saying reports submitted by committees constituted on the issue in the past should be sought and a meeting should be convened immediately to review the situation.
According to officials, an average of nearly one student died every day in the state's ashram schools over the last two years, taking the total death toll to 584 across state-run and government-aided residential facilities during the period, the news agency reported.
The reported causes include snakebites, sickle cell disease, serious illnesses, accidents and suicides.
The NCP (SP) working president said district collectors should be asked to review the schools and submit their reports within a month.
Elected representatives, irrespective of their political affiliations, should be involved in the review, she said, stressing that children's education and health should be kept above politics.
While speaking about reports of 20 companies in Pune's Chakan industrial area relocating due to problems including traffic congestion, pollution, water supply, electricity and poor roads, Sule said the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) was established during NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's tenure, reported PTI.
She said the situation had become a cause for concern under the present "double-engine government".
Poor families were losing jobs, Sule claimed, while questioning the government's response to the problems faced by workers and industries in the area.
(With PTI inputs)
