New Delhi: The FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) licence for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity was restored Saturday, two weeks after the Home Ministry cited “adverse inputs” to refuse a renewal request by the Kolkata-based organisation.
The loss of the license – needed to receive funding from abroad – left the group, which operates orphanages and shelters for the poor, sick, and destitute across India, unable to access foreign funds in over 250 accounts.
No statement has been made by the government so far.
Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien, who was one of several opposition leaders to slam the government over the cancelling of the FCRA licence, this morning tweeted “the power of love is stronger than the power of 56 inch” – an indirect swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The FCRA registration for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity is back. (Screenshot????) The ‘adverse inputs’ harassed so many and then disappeared in two weeks.
The POWER OF LOVE is stronger than the power of 56 inch. pic.twitter.com/TQmMKRTe7N
— Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 8, 2022
“The FCRA registration for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity is back. The ‘adverse inputs’ harassed so many and then disappeared in two weeks. The POWER OF LOVE is stronger than the power of 56 inch,” the Rajya Sabha member wrote.
The Missionaries of Charity’s FCRA licence was revoked on Christmas Day in a move widely condemned by many, including Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Without permission to use funds from abroad the Missionaries of Charity were forced to freeze multiple bank accounts across the country, including those with the State Bank of India.
Work at the organisation has continued despite the slashing of available funds; an official told news agency PTI: “In India, we have been sustaining all these years with the love and support of people in this country. So we will continue to serve the poor, destitute, ailing, aged with the same gusto in the same way.”
With inputs from NDTV, PTI