New Delhi: The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) has said that during the recently-concluded Kerala assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the state had said that they will intervene to address the concerns raised by the Church about the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, but no BJP leader contacted the Church once the elections got over, reported The Hindu.“But after the Assembly election, no BJP leader in Kerala contacted the Church leadership on the issue. During a recent meeting the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India representatives had with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Minister only gave an assurance that the FCRA Bill would not have a retroactive effect. We don’t know how that assurance will work, and we will get the details only after the original content of the Bill is out,” KCBC spokesperson Fr. Thomas Tharayil told the newspaperThe KCBC said that the Church’s concerns about the FCRA Bill, 2026 have not been cleared, even as the Bill is set to be tabled in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament, reported The Hindu.Underlining the fact that existing laws are fully capable of monitoring utilisation of foreign funds, the KCBC has also said that it did not receive any foreign contribution through personal accounts.“The reality is that the Church is not receiving foreign funds in any personal accounts. All funds are received through the RBI special branch in New Delhi. Those receiving the funds need to file utilisation details. Also, income tax returns need to be submitted every year. The government can easily verify the utilisation and details of the total money received through IT returns’ verification,” said Fr. Tharayil.“If an organisation fails to submit details of a foreign donation or decides to stop receiving foreign donations, the Bill states that the building constructed using those funds will go to the government. But the reality is that for the construction of hospitals or schools, 80% of the funding comes from local resources, with only the remaining 20% supported by foreign funds. Yet, the Bill recommends taking over of such properties. Such provisions are raising serious concerns,” he added.Earlier on June 10, a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) had met Union home minister Amit Shah and submitted a memorandum to him, urging Shah to withdraw the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2026 and the recently notified rules.Calling for the redrafting of both the Bill and the rules, the CBCI had expressed concern over the proposed amendments and said that some of them can affect charitable institutions that have served poor and vulnerable communities for decades.Shah told the delegation that that the proposed FCRA amendments should not be viewed as to be directed against the Christian community and that the proposed amendments would not have a retrospective effect.But later, Congress Lok Sabha MP and party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal slammed Shah in a post on X and accused him of “lying” to the CBCI.