Modi Government cancels Registration of Greenpeace India

However, if Greenpeace India Society feels aggrieved by this order, under Section 45(1) of the Act it can appeal to the Inspector General of Registration, he added.

The government had said it was acting on an audit which showed the organisation had violated rules on foreign funding and had not disclosed transaction information.

A Greenpeace spokesman denied any wrongdoing, instead blaming an ongoing battle with Indian auhorities over the past year that has seen the non-governmental organization’s (NGO) bank accounts frozen.

Greenpeace is expected to challenge this order in the Madras High Court as soon as possible, according to sources cited by the Times of India.

Calling the measure “an extension of the deep intolerance for differing viewpoints that sections of this government seem to harbour” Gopal said: “The registrar has passed this order without granting Greenpeace a hearing, and without complying with the Madras High Court order to address each of our points and queries”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has intensified the government’s focus on foreign charities since taking office past year, accusing a few of trying to hamper projects on social and environmental grounds.

The report specifically criticized foreign-funded charities and groups for organizing public protests against nuclear power plants, uranium mines, coal-fired power plants, genetically modified crops and electronic waste.

That order was overturned by a court in New Delhi before being reinstated by the national government two months ago.

In September, the Government of India had cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA), which prevented it from receiving foreign donations.

An intelligence bureau report, leaked to the media last June, advised the government that NGOs were “negatively impacting economic development” and that Greenpeace India in particular was “a threat to national economic security”.

More than 9,000 charities and other groups have been closed down for failing to declare details of overseas donations.

Previously, Greenpeace has accused Indian authorities of placing its campaigners on a suspicious persons list and barring their exit from and entry into the country.

In January, Indian authorities offloaded Greenpeace India activist Priya Pillai from a flight to London, where she was scheduled to discuss the organization’s campaign against a mining company. The organisation, however, said the cancellation was motivated by instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).