What Mother Teresa's organisation said in its reply to Mohan Bhagwat

In a controversial statement, Bhagwat had alleged that the motive behind Mother Teresa's service to the poor was converting them to Christianity.

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Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa
Catholic nuns stand under a picture of Mother Teresa during a ceremony marking her 14th death anniversary in Kolkata. Photo:Reuters

Mother Teresa's Missionary of Charity on Tuesday reacted to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's controversial remarks on the Peace Nobel laureate, accusing her of running a conversion campaign disguised as social work.

"Mohan Bhagwat is ill informed. He should come and visit the mission to know more about our work," spokesperson Sunita Kumar said, adding, "The mission works for the poor irrespective of their religious background. The people of the country and especially Kolkata remembers the Mother for her compassion and love for the poor."

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"People in Kolkata and across the world cutting across religious affiliations revere the Mother," Kumar said.

In a controversial statement, Bhagwat had on Monday alleged that the motive behind Mother Teresa's service to the poor was converting them to Christianity. "Unki seva achhi rahi hogi, lekin uske pichhe ek uddeshya tha ki jiski seva ki ja rahi hai, wah Isaai ban jae (Her service may have been great but there was an objective behind her social work: she wanted to convert people to Christianity)," Bhagwat said during the inauguration of a Mahila Sadan and Shishu Bal Grah of an NGO called Apna Ghar in Rajasthan.

On Tuesday, the RSS clarified its chief's remarks by saying he was only responding to a statement made by another person at the event. "Dr Bhagavat was responding to the observation made by chief guest of function Prakash Singh Ex DG BSF that under the guise of service, What was going on was religious conversion," a tweet from the RSS said.

On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had slammed Bhagwat, saying Mother Teresa was a "noble soul" and should be spared from such remarks. "I worked wid Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hriday ashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Pl spare her," Kejriwal tweeted.

Albania-born Mother Teresa, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, died in 1997 in Kolkata. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003.