Shillong, July 8: The Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Church elders from North East that their concerns over the proposed amendment to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) will be examined by the government, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Wednesday.
Referring to his recent meeting with Shah along with church leaders in Delhi, he said, “I was accompanied by leaders of different churches and different denominations from Meghalaya, and some from the rest of the North East. We had a detailed discussion on the amendments to the FCRA Act,” he said.
Describing the meeting as positive, he said, “The discussions were very positive in the sense that there was a lot of concern that was raised by us… the Home Minister took the initiative and took the trouble to explain all the different aspects.”
Shah has assured follow-up action and called for a wider consultation.
“He has assured us that he will go to each of these points, discuss and come back to us with a reply. On top of that, he has also decided to invite different Church leaders from the North East in the next two weeks’ time, where the Home Secretary will sit with the different Church leaders and listen to their concerns, address their concerns,” he said.
The follow-up meeting was proposed by the state to seek more clarity.
“Maybe in about 10 days to 14 days’ time, we will be invited once again to Delhi by the Home Secretary for further discussions,” Sangma added.
