FCRA renewal application of Mother Teresa's charity rejected; didn't freeze accounts: MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday said that it did not freeze any account of the Mother Teresa's charity.

According to a statement by the ministry, the State Bank of India has informed that the Missionaries of Charity itself sent a request to SBI to freeze its accounts.

The MHA also said that Missionaries of Charity's application for renewal of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration was refused on December 25 for not meeting eligibility conditions as some adverse inputs were received.  "No request or revision application has been received from Missionaries of Charity for review of this refusal of renewal," the statement said.

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.

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.