Think Tank CPR Is Being “Harrassed For Independent Thinking”: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday blasted out at the BJP administration, claiming this was “new India” where people with independent thinking are “harassed”, after the FCRA licence of a leading public think-tank was cancelled by the Union home ministry.
According to officials, the government has suspended the Centre for Policy Research’s (CPR) licence for six months due to alleged legal violations.

“A top research organisation that was connected to the ruling elite after May 2014 is now being harassed for its independent thinking,” tweeted Congress general secretary of communications Jairam Ramesh.

“Mr. Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) wants drumbeaters and will not tolerate any questioning of his policies, however professional. This is new India,” he said. CPR, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in a statement, said it continues to cooperate fully with authorities, is in complete compliance with the law and is routinely scrutinised and audited by government authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. CPR was under scrutiny after Income Tax surveys on it and Oxfam India in September last year. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of CPR has been suspended over alleged violation of laws, the officials said.

Following the suspension of Oxfam’s FCRA licence in January of last year, the Charity submitted a revision appeal to the home ministry. The Centre for Policy Research will not be able to accept any funding from outside the United States due to the suspension of its licence that was granted under the FCRA.

The World Resources Institute, Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were among the donors to CPR, according to the authorities.

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