KOLKATA: The Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charity’s application for renewal of a licence to receive funds from donors abroad was turned down on Christmas by the Union home ministry, which said it noticed some “adverse inputs” while considering the application.
“The renewal application under (the) Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for the renewal of FCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC) was refused on 25 December 2021 for not meeting the eligibility conditions,” the Union home ministry said in a statement.
The MoC has not filed any “revision application,” the ministry added. The matter came to light after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed the Centre froze all the bank accounts of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in India.
To clarify its position, the Centre issued the statement on Monday, denying that it froze the MoC’s bank accounts. It said the MoC itself had sent a request to the State Bank of India to freeze its accounts. The MoC, too, issued a statement that read: “There is no freeze ordered by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) on any of our bank accounts. We have been informed that our FCRA renewal application has not been approved.”
M Prema, superior general of the MoC, said, “As a measure to ensure there is no lapse, we have asked our centres not to operate any of the FC (foreign contribution) accounts until the matter is resolved”. The rejection of the renewal application comes at a time when hate crimes have been committed against Christians across the country. On December 23, members of the Hindu Jagaran Vedike allegedly barged into a convent school in Karnataka’s Mandya district, disrupted a Christmas celebration and threatened the school authorities.
Announcing the decision in a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made it clear that it did not freeze any account of the Missionaries of Charity, but was informed by State Bank of India that the organisation itself had sent a request to the bank to freeze its accounts.
The decision of not renewing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration of the organisation that was founded by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa to help the poor and the destitute in 1950 led to a political slugfest between the opposition and the ruling BJP, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress leaders terming the move "shocking" and "disgusting".
The Missionaries of Charity issued a brief statement in Kolkata, saying it had asked its centres not to operate any foreign currency account till the issue of renewal of the organisation's FCRA registration was resolved.
The statement signed by Sister M Prema, Superior General of the body, did not clarify whether it had asked SBI to freeze its accounts, as stated by the Home Ministry.
"We would like to clarify that the FCRA registration of the Missionaries of Charity has been neither suspended nor cancelled. There is no freeze order by the MHA on any of our bank accounts. We have been informed that our FCRA renewal has not been approved."
"As a measure to ensure there is no lapse, we have asked our centres not to operate any of the FC accounts until the matter is resolved," the statement said.
The Home Ministry said the application for the renewal of the FCRA registration of the organisation was refused on December 25 for not meeting the eligibility conditions under the FCRA and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules (FCRR) 2011.
"No request or revision application has been received from Missionaries of Charity for review of this refusal of renewal," the statement said.
The registration under the FCRA was valid up to October 31, 2021 which was subsequently extended up to December 31, 2021 along with other FCRA associations whose renewal applications were pending renewal.
"However, while considering the Missionaries of Charity's renewal application, some adverse inputs were noticed. In consideration of these inputs on record, the renewal application of the organisation was not approved," it said.
Slamming the move, Banerjee was the first to come out in support of the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) claiming that the Centre's move had left "22,000 patients and employees" of the organisation "without food and medicines".
"Shocked to hear that on Christmas, Union Ministry FROZE ALL BANK ACCOUNTS of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in India! Their 22,000 patients and employees have been left without food and medicines. While the law is paramount, humanitarian efforts must not be compromised," Banerjee tweeted.
As the government clarified that it had not approved the MoC's renewal application for "adverse inputs", the ruling BJP hit out at Banerjee for being "poorly informed".
"Poorly informed Mamata Banerjee gets it wrong, like always. This is what happens when you have an eye on Goa polls and religious polarisation and not governance is the only calling card. TMC's Bengal model of appeasement has limited appeal, won't work in rest of India," Amit Malviya, BJP's co-incharge of West Bengal, said in a tweet.
He also shared a statement on Twitter issued by the Missionaries of Charity, clarifying that the Home Ministry had not ordered freezing of its accounts.
"Missionaries of Charity issues a statement and it is exactly what the Ministry of Home Affairs has said. If the two are on the same page, then whose propaganda is Mamata Banerjee peddling? Or is it a deliberate devious attempt to spread misinformation?" Malviya asked in another tweet.
Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma expressed "shock" at the Centre's action.
"This is indeed shocking. When Mother Teresa wins a Nobel Prize, India rejoices. When her organisation serves the poor and destitute, the government cuts off their funding. Disgraceful," Tharoor wrote on Twitter.
Sharma demanded the prime minister's intervention in the matter and an immediate reversal of the decision.
"Shocked at the Government's action of freezing the accounts of Missionaries of Charity. Condemning the cruel, insensitive and inhuman decision which will hurt the ailing and suffering poor the most," he tweeted.
Rajya Sabha MP of the Trinamool Congress Derek O'Brien accused the Centre of carrying out a "hit job" on the Kolkata-headquartered Missionaries of Charity and resorting to "spin doctoring and a cover-up".
He also accused the Centre of "intimidating" the organisation and "piling pressure to extract" a statement from it on the issue.
Cruel Xmas gift: Kolkata vicar general
Dominic Gomes, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Kolkata, called the rejection of the application a “cruel” Christmas gift.
“We condemn the government action against the MoC and are appalled by the timing and lack of empathy to consider the humanitarian disaster this decision will cause,” he said