The government, on Tuesday, said that the stand taken and statements made by Amnesty International are ‘unfortunate, exaggerated and far from the truth’.
The Union Home Ministry, in a briefing, said that Amnesty International is free to continue humanitarian work in India, but made it clear that India does not allow interference in domestic political debates by entities funded by foreign donations. “This law applies equally to all & it shall apply to Amnesty International as well,” it said.
“Since then Amnesty International has been denied FCRA approval by successive governments since it’s not eligible to get such approval. In order to circumvent FCRA regulations, Amnesty UK remitted large amounts of money to 4 entities registered in India, by classifying it as FDI,” it further said.
Amnesty International not eligible for FCRA permission: MHA
Adding that Amnesty International had received permission under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) only once in the year 2000, the MHA said that the organisation is not eligible to get such approval and it has been denied the same by successive governments.
“In order to circumvent the FCRA regulations, Amnesty UK remitted large amounts of money to four entities registered in India, by classifying it as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). A significant amount of foreign money was also remitted to Amnesty (India) without MHA’s approval under FCRA. This mala fide rerouting of money was in contravention of extant legal provisions,” MHA said in a press release.
Earlier today, Amnesty International announced that it will halt its India operations citing ‘witch hunt’ by the government. Alleging that the government has frozen its bank accounts, the human rights organisation claimed that ‘harassment’ by the government agencies is a result of its calls for ‘transparency’ in light of ‘human rights violations in Delhi riots and Jammu & Kashmir’.
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