New Delhi, April 1 CPI(M) MP John Brittas alleged on Wednesday that the government is treating even basic information related to the regulation of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) as "secret", raising concerns over transparency and parliamentary accountability.
In a post on X, the Left leader said his repeated attempts over the last two years to seek data on cancellations, suspensions and non-renewals of FCRA licences have gone unanswered.
He said since 2024, he has submitted eight rounds of questions in the Rajya Sabha on basic transparency on FCRA suspensions, cancellations, non-renewals, fresh registrations and the accessibility of the FCRA dashboard.
"Yet, none of those questions elicited any response. All those questions relating to cancellation of FCRA licences were disallowed under Rule 47(2)(XXII) on the ground that the information sought is 'secret in nature'," he said.
Brittas added that his latest query, submitted on March 11 during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, pertained to the removal of public access to NGO-wise data from the FCRA portal, but was disallowed without any reason given.
"Even this question was disallowed, with the reason for disallowance yet to be published on my page in the Members' portal of the Rajya Sabha website," he said.
"Are basic parliamentary queries on the number of FCRA licences cancelled, the reasons for denial or non-renewal, and the withdrawal of access to public regulatory data to be treated as classified information?" the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader asked, terming the development a matter of concern.
He further said when transparency itself is treated as secret, accountability becomes "the first casualty", and questioned what could be so confidential about regulatory decisions affecting public charitable institutions that even Parliament is denied access.
The remarks came amid a debate over proposed amendments to the FCRA, which governs foreign funding to NGOs in India.
Amid protests by opposition MPs, who staged a demonstration in the Parliament complex against the amendments and have been vocally opposing it, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced in the Lok Sabha that the bill would not be taken up on Wednesday.