A week after the Home Ministry suspended the FCRA registration of Lawyers Collective, its founding member Anand Grover today said the NGO will not be dictated by the funders or the government and they will continue to work with more determination.
The advocacy NGO further claimed that the action was malafide and an act of vindictiveness on the part of the government as both founding members, Grover and Indira Jaising, have represented several persons in cases against the government and the functionaries, including BJP chief Amit Shah, protesting his discharge in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh murder case.
"The allegation against Jaising was based on the footing that she was a government servant who was prohibited from receiving foreign contribution (FC) under the FCRA. However, she was a public servant and not a government servant, on whom there was no bar to receive FC.
"Has she received foreign contribution? No. Lawyers Collective has received the money. Can she receive money from Lawyers Collective? She can as renumeration for the work she does. She is a senior counsel and she is actually doing work for Lawyers Collective," Grover said.
"Is it in conflict of interest with the government? No, first it takes the permission. Secondly, it is doing exactly what the government wants us to do, work on women's rights. How is it against national interest ? But sorry you are doing things which we don't like. Therefore...(referring to the show cause notice)," he said.
As far as donations are concerned, he claimed that 80 per cent is foreign funding on an average and 20 per cent is local (Indian).
Asserting that they they have no ill-feeling against the government, he said, "We will not stop working on the issues and we will now work with even more determination because we believe in what we are doing. We are not dictated by the funders or the government."
He said detailed reply will be given to the ministry within the 30 days period and that they will challenge the action.
"We don't know what will happen. But we are not going to take this lying down," Grover said.
Lawyers Collective also issued a statement in which it condemned the alleged attempt of the government to "victimise" the organisation and said all foreign contributions were spent for the purposes received and accounted for.
