CM Pinarayi Vijayan Reiterates Opposition to FCRA, Flags Minority Concerns

Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday reiterated the state government's firm opposition to the amended Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), saying the legislation infringes on minority rights and must be immediately withdrawn by the central government.

Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said that a nation must take its own people into confidence, and that viewing one section of the population with suspicion serves no constructive purpose. "The stance being adopted in our country at present is generating deep anxiety among a section of the people, particularly among minority communities," he said, adding that this is not a recent development but a trend that has continued for a long time.

Pinarayi Vijayan said that rather than measures to alleviate such anxieties, the central government has consistently taken steps that only deepen them. "The most severe among these is the FCRA. It is widely perceived as a scheme deliberately targeting minority communities, and the state government views it in the same light," he said. He added that it was on this basis that the state had written to the Prime Minister demanding the immediate rollback of the amendment.

The Chief Minister pointed to the numerous institutions in Keralam that function effectively — not solely on the strength of their own revenues, but also through contributions received through various channels, including voluntary service by their own people. "What is happening now is an attempt to paint a distorted picture of these institutions and dismantle them," he said.

He also questioned the justice of shutting down an institution and bringing it under government control merely because it was late in submitting accounts. "This is the injustice that is being perpetrated," he said, noting that Christian communities across the country have already registered strong protests against the FCRA. "We too, as the state government, have conveyed our sentiments on this matter and written to the Prime Minister. The state government's demand remains the same — the immediate withdrawal of the FCRA."

The Chief Minister also trained his criticism on the ideological roots of the policy, stating that the BJP government implementing this legislation is led by the RSS, an organisation that has historically identified Muslims and Christians as internal enemies of the nation. "The manner in which so-called internal enemies are being dealt with is there for everyone to see. Problems are occurring not in one place but in many, and it is the Sangh Parivar that is leading them," he said. Vijayan charged that the central government is protecting the perpetrators of Sangh Parivar attacks rather than offering protection to the victims.