“The brilliant statements on humanitarian work and speaking truth to power are a ploy to divert attention from activities that clearly contravene Indian law,” the MHA said in a statement.
The response came after Amnesty International’s announcement that it is halting all its activities in India due to the freezing of its accounts. The organization had further claimed that it was being subjected to an “incessant witch hunt” for unsubstantiated and motivated charges.
The Interior Ministry said Amnesty’s statements are an attempt to bizarrely influence the course of multi-agency investigations into their wrongdoing in recent years.
He said that Amnesty is free to continue humanitarian work in India, as many other organizations are doing, but Indian laws do not allow interference in national political debates by entities funded by foreign donations.
“This law applies equally to everyone and will apply to Amnesty International as well,” the Interior Ministry said.
The government added that Amnesty International had received permission under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) only once and that also twenty years ago (19 December 2000).
“Amnesty International, despite its repeated requests, has been denied approval by the FCRA by successive governments as, according to law, it is not eligible for such approval,” the Interior Ministry said in a detailed statement.
He added that Amnesty UK had remitted large sums of money to various organizations, including Amnesty India, without MHA approval under the FCRA.
“This misdirection of money contravenes current legal provisions,” he said.
Due to these illegal Amnesty practices, the previous government had also rejected Amnesty’s repeated requests for funds from abroad, the Interior Ministry said.
This had led Amnesty to suspend its operations in India once also during that period.
“The failure of Amnesty to comply with local regulations does not give them the right to comment on the democratic and plural character of India,” MHA stated.
Meanwhile, the BJP criticized Amnesty International for its alleged involvement in “multiple illegalities” and said it has no right to lecture on decorum.
At a press conference, BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that any organization can work in India but cannot violate the country’s laws and regulations.
“Any organization can work in India, but it has to be within its legal scope. Wearing a veil of honesty and acting in bad faith is not something we will allow Indian or foreign organizations, “he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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