Teesta Setalvad's NGO's licence suspended for six months

NEW DELHI: The government has suspended the FCRA licence of one of activist Teesta Setalvad’s NGOs, Sabrang Trust, for six months, issuing an order to that effect on Thursday, citing a host of violations. The step was in the offing for nearly a couple of months after a notice was issued to Sabrang Trust.

Home Ministry officials, however, denied any link of the removal of LC Goyal as the Home Secretary with the present decision, clarifying that Goyal had never blocked the file and the Ministry had consciously decided to vet its step thoroughly as Setalvad is bound to challenge the same before the court.

A ministry official also rejected suggestions of a government campaign against Setalvad, pointing out that the Home Ministry had allowed another NGO run by her, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), to continue operations under its FCRA license after talking prior permission from government for foreign aid.

“The violations in terms of CJP were not as serious as Sabrang Trust and hence the former’s licence was not suspended,” the ministry official said. MHA had earlier marked a CBI inquiry into the affairs of a company run by Setalvad, Sabrang Communications and Publishing Pvt Ltd, which had accepted foreign aid without holding any FCRA license.