New Delhi, April 1 The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India welcomed the move to postpone the tabling of the FCRA Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, even as it said concerns remain because it was only postponed.
Speaking to the media after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the Bill would not be taken up on Wednesday, Robinson Rodrigues, the public relations officer of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), pointed out that they had written about the Bill to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as well as several MPs.
Welcoming the postponement, Rodrigues said, "We have to keep in mind that it has been postponed, it has not been withdrawn. So our struggle, our protest remains. We thank all the MPs, the opposition MPs who have raised the issue and who have come out in our support."
"We also thank the government. Yesterday, we sent our memorandum to Honorable Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji and also all other MPs who supported us. The government today, they have postponed the Bill, they are not presenting it today," he said.
The CBCI spokesperson said this gives them some time to plan future strategy and called it a "humanitarian issue".
Asked about reports that the Bill was postponed considering the upcoming Kerala polls, he said, "Our delegation will go and meet them. And as the government, I believe and I hope they will listen to our concerns and take appropriate action."
He added that CBCI representatives will attempt to hold meetings with leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, and Rijiju, among others.