MEA stands firm as US rakes up NGO issue

In response to the US saying on Thursday that it would take up with India the issue of the shutting down of a US-based NGO in the country, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has said that “any NGO has to operate within laws” and that it was a “matter of law enforcement”.

US-based Christian charity NGO Compassion International is said to be shutting down its India operations after it was put under “prior permission category” in May 2016. When a donor organisation is put under this category, it is barred from funding any Indian NGO without the government’s approval.

The MEA dismissed the suggestion that the RSS may have had a role in the government's decision.

The MEA, however, did not elaborate on the Compassion International case.

Government sources later told this newspaper that there were “some taxation issues” with the NGO.

According to news agency reports from Washington, the United States said it would take up the matter with India, and sought a “transparent process” for foreign NGOs in the country, saying the Christian charity has been facing “significant challenges” for some time.

In December, the Union home ministry had reportedly said it was unlikely to reconsider the decision to put the NGO under the prior permission category, notwithstanding appeals by American authorities.