NHRC seeks report from MHA after Amnesty alleges 'witch-hunt' by government

Describing the Amnesty International as a "reputed" organisation and raising its voice against human rights violations across the globe, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday sought a report from the Union Home Secretary following the NGO's announcement to shut down its operations in the country claiming "witch-hunt" by the government.

Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports regarding Amnesty International India's statement and the Ministry of Home Affairs' response, the NHRC asked the Home Secretary to submit his reply within six weeks.

It said that the NHRC has "carefully examined" the contents of the news report and the allegations levelled by the organisation are "serious in nature" and the government has "strongly" responded to it.

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"The Amnesty International is a reputed non-governmental organisation raising its voice globally whenever there is an incident of violation of human rights of the people...Any kind of difference of opinion may be a subject of investigation and decision by the competent court," the NHRC said.

It said that it was necessary for the NHRC "to go through the matter, analyse the facts and reach a conclusion" in the interest of human rights friendly environment in the country.

On Tuesday, Amnesty said that it was halting its operations in India and let go of staff claiming that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) "froze" all its bank accounts earlier this month in what it called "incessant witch-hunt".

The MHA countered it saying the Amnesty statement was "unfortunate, exaggerated and far from the truth" and human rights cannot be an "excuse for defying" the law of the land.

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In its statement, the NHRC cited media reports about Amnesty testifying at the US Congressional hearing on human rights in South Asia with a focus on Jammu and Kashmir after the government revoked its special status, an investigative report against Delhi Police investigations on Delhi riots and its stand on Bhima Koregaon case.

The organization has reportedly stated that their harassment by the government is a result of their unequivocal calls for transparency in the government, more recently for accountability of the Delhi Police and the Government of India regarding the grave human rights violations in the Delhi riots and in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.

It also noted the MHA rebuttal and remarks that it has violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) violations, and interfered in "domestic police debates” despite being funded by foreign donations.

The charges leveled by Amnesty have however also been denied by the ruling BJP alleging that the NGO was raising funds from abroad in contravention of the laws. They also alleged that there has been shifting money transfer to the companies and there is a suspected flow of money into the trust of Amnesty International.