Inquiry instituted into renewal of FCRA licence of Naik’s NGO

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) A departmental inquiry has beeninstituted by the Home Ministry into the issue of renewal ofthe FCRA licence of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s NGO whichled to suspension of four officials. Secretary (Border Management) Susheel Kumar is conductingthe probe to find out the details about how the FCRA licenceof Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) was renewed despiteseveral ongoing probes, including one by the Home Ministry,official sources said. Four officials, including Joint Secretary (ForeignersDivision) G K Dwivedi, were suspended for alleged derelictionof duties. Sources said if the inquiry of Kumar comes in favour ofDwivedi, the government may take a lenient view to revoke thesuspension but such a decision will come only after thecompletion of the inquiry. Upset over suspension of the IAS officer, four JointSecretaries of the Home Ministry have conveyed to Union HomeSecretary Rajiv Mehrishi that action against Dwivedi for thealleged lapses by his juniors in FCRA licence renewal ofNaik’s NGO was "demoralising" and "harsh on an honestofficer". Sources said Dwivedi, infact, was taking action byputting the IRF into prior permission category under the FCRA,thus restricted the flow of foreign funding into his NGO. There is a possibility of IRF being put under priorpermission category so that any funds coming from abroad hasto be given to the NGO only after getting nod from the Homeministry. The probes being undergoing against Naik for allegedlyradicalisation youths and attracting them towards extremism. Senior officers in the Home Ministry conveyed that theintegrity of Dwivedi was beyond any question and such actionagainst a senior officer for the alleged lapses of his juniorswould send a wrong signal. Dwivedi has been credited with successfully implementingPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s several key projects includingTVoA (tourist visa on arrival), enabled by Electronic TravelAuthorisation (ETA), popularly known as e-tourist visa schemethat led to 293 per cent jump in foreign tourist arrivals inIndia. The scheme was launched on November 27, 2014 and iscurrently offered to citizens of 150 countries. Dwivedi also led the successful merger of Person ofIndian Origin (PIO) card scheme with Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) card scheme, as announced by the Prime Minister. He oversaw Modi government’s another pet project ofoffering long term visa and citizenship to Hindu, Sikh andother minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, whohave taken refuge in India after facing religious persecutionin their home counties. Dwivedi was also instrumental in completely overhaulingthe registration process of NGOs under the ForeignContribution Regulations Act and making it completely onlineand transparent. PTI ACBRG