Govt distances itself from Mohan Bhagwat's remark

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government on Tuesday distanced itself from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s controversial remarks on Mother Teresa.

The remarks lent evidence to the Opposition and Christian bodies to put the Centre back in the dock barely a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condemned forced conversion and religion linked violence.

Reports stated that Bhagwat told a gathering in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, that Mother Teresa's service to the poor was with the intention of conversion to Christianity. The RSS, however, denied reports about their chief casting aspersion on Mother Teresa’s charitable work.

“The media reported wrongly. At Bharatpur, ex-DG of the BSF (Prakash Singh) said that Mother Teresa did seva with motive of conversion. In reply Bhagavatji said ‘let Mother Teresa know her motive for seva, we do seva without expecting any returns,” RSS senior functionary M Vaidya stated. Vaidya quoted RSS chief as saying that “when seva is done, nothing is expected in return except the well being of the affected.” Mother Teresa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata in 1950. She died in 1997 in Kolkata and was beatified as the “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta” in 2003

“He is misinformed. It should be absolutely clear that conversion was not going on when Mother was there, nor is it going on now. The whole motive is to serve the poor selflessly, bring joy and dignity into their lives,” Sunita Kumar, spokesperson of the Missionaries of Charity, told a news agency in Kolkata.

Responding to the issue raised during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, which was expunged by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said: “The government has nothing to do with such statements. Private persons have a right to speak outside.”

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said that the Sangh outfit is itself engaged in conversions and are dividing society on communal lines. “Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on Mother Teresa is very unfortunate. The RSS has projected itself as a social and cultural organisation but it has been engaging in conversions,” he said.