Govt did not freeze any accounts of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity: MHA

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New Delhi, Dec 27, 2021: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday clarified that the Centre did not freeze any accounts of Missionaries of Charity and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration is valid up to 31 December, 2021.

In a statement, the MHA also said that the Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity’s application for renewal of the FCRA registration was refused on December 25 for not meeting eligibility conditions as some adverse inputs were received.

It also stated that State Bank of India (SBI) has informed that MoC itself sent a request to SBI to freeze its accounts, the statement said.

’’No request or revision application has been received from Missionaries of Charity for review of this refusal of renewal,’’ it added.

The MHA statement came hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the Centre had frozen all bank accounts of the organisation founded by Mother Teresa.

’’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 & employees have been left without food & medicines. While the law is paramount, humanitarian efforts must not be compromised,’’ Banerjee tweeted.

Meanwhile, the congregation’s spokesperson said she is unaware of the same and "everything is fine," according to India Today reports.

"We have not been told anything regarding this. I am not aware of this at all. The Government of India has not told us anything. Bank transactions are working fine. Everything is fine," said Missionaries of Charity spokesperson Sunita Kumar, the report quoted.

The Missionaries of Charity’s registration under the FCRA was valid up to October 31, 2021.

The MHA said 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 MoC was not approved,’’ the statement said.