Aizawl: Thousands joined a peaceful rally in Aizawl on Tuesday organised by the Council of Churches in Mizoram (CCM), an alliance of nine church denominations, to protest the proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and demand the removal of what it called controversial provisions.Addressing the gathering at Vanapa Hall, CCM president Rev R Lalbiakliana said the rally was held despite Centre’s assertion that the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 is aimed at improving transparency and safeguarding national security. He said certain proposed changes are “unacceptable” and could adversely affect church-run organisations.Lalbiakliana said while Centre has maintained the Bill does not target Christians, some provisions could be “greatly harmful” to Christian NGOs. “If the amendment Bill is legislated, some provisions can be abused to confiscate and dispose of assets and properties belonging to church-run NGOs and civil society organisations whose FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or not renewed,” he said, adding that parts of the proposed amendments violate Article 300A of the Constitution.All political parties in the state, except the BJP’s Mizoram unit, expressed support for the CCM rally.CM Lalduhoma said he hopes Union govt will consider the concerns raised by state govt and church bodies in the interest of “inclusive, transparent and consultative” policymaking. In a social media post, he said he and leaders of the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee (MKHC) and CCM recently met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to present concerns and suggestions on the Bill, and submitted a memorandum to Union Home Ministry. He also appealed to Centre to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine inputs from stakeholders nationwide before the legislation is finalised.
