Two Rajya Sabha MPs made special invitees to joint committee on FCRA Bill

In a rare move, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has nominated two Rajya Sabha members as "special invitees" to the joint parliamentary committee examining the FCRA Bill

In a rare move, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has nominated two Rajya Sabha members as "special invitees" to the joint parliamentary committee examining the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.

A Lok Sabha bulletin on Wednesday said Javed Ali Khan and James Pangsang Kongkal Sangma have been nominated as special invitees to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Bill.

Former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achari told PTI that Rule 299 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha states that MPs who are not members of the Select Committee may be present during the deliberations of the Committee but shall not address it or sit in the body of the panel.

A select committee of one House or a joint committee of the two Houses is constituted to examine a Bill, and its term ends upon the submission of a report.

Achari said members with special interests and specialisation in certain fields can be made special invitees, who can sit alongside officials in the same room during panel meetings. However, they cannot sit with members of the committee, he said.