The Home Affairs Ministry on Tuesday termed Amnesty International’s statements as “unfortunate, exaggerated and far from the truth”.

“All the glossy statements about humanitarian work and speaking truth to power are nothing but a ploy to divert attention from their activities which were in clear contravention of laid down Indian laws. Such statements are also an attempt to extraneously influence the course of investigations by multiple agencies into the irregularities and illegalities carried out over the last few years,” the Ministry said in a statement.

It said that Amnesty International received permission under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) only once about twenty years ago. Since December 2002 it has not been given FCRA approval by successive governments as it is not eligible.

“However, in order to circumvent the FCRA regulations, Amnesty UK remitted large amounts of money to four entities registered in India, by classifying it as FDI. A significant amount of foreign money was also remitted to Amnesty (India) without MHA’s approval under FCRA. This malafide rerouting of money was in contravention of extant legal provisions,” the Home Affairs Ministry’s statement added.

“This bipartisan and purely legal approach towards Amnesty, under different governments, makes it clear that the entire fault lies in the dubious processes adopted by Amnesty to secure funds for its operations,” the official statement added.

‘Can work, not interfere’

Stating that India has a rich and pluralistic democratic culture with a free press, the Ministry said that Amnesty International is free to continue humanitarian work in India. “However, India, by settled law, does not allow interference in domestic political debates by entities funded by foreign donations. This law applies equally to all and it shall apply to Amnesty International as well,” the Ministry added .