Mother Teresa charity's plea on foreign funds turned down

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 27

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rejected the application of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, for renewal of its registration under the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) for continuing to receive donations from abroad.

The MHA issued a statement today hours after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Centre had frozen all bank accounts of the organisation. The MHA said the organisation itself had sent a request to the SBI for freezing its accounts.

“The registration (under FCRA) was valid up to October 31, 2021. The validity was subsequently extended up to December 31, 2021, along with other FCRA associations whose renewal application were pending renewal. However, while considering the MoC’s renewal application, some adverse inputs were noticed. In consideration of these inputs on record, the renewal application of the MoC was not approved,” the Home Ministry statement stated.

“The MHA did not freeze any accounts of the MoC. The State Bank of India has informed that MoC itself sent a request to the SBI to freeze its accounts,” the release added.

Earlier, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that all bank accounts of the MoC had been frozen by the Centre. 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,” she said in a tweet on Monday afternoon. The MoC, however, has not spoken on the issue.