New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) BJP National Information & Technology Department in-charge and West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya, on Saturday, hit back at TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose over her remarks on the Centre’s alleged treatment of Christian institutions and the Missionaries of Charity after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the organisation’s Mother House in Kolkata.

Reacting to Ghose’s post on X, Malviya accused her of spreading misinformation and deliberately distorting facts.

In his X post, Malviya said that Sagarika Ghosh, Mamata Banerjee’s stooge, is a habitual disinformation peddler.

He further claimed that apart from the fact that “US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited ‘Mother House’ in Kolkata,” every other statement made by Ghose was “a blatant falsehood.”

Calling the remarks “a deliberate and malicious attempt,” Malviya alleged that Ghose was trying to “spread disinformation, malign the Government of India, and mislead people through a complete distortion of facts.”

The BJP leader then listed what he described as the “hard facts” regarding the legal status of the Missionaries of Charity under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

“The Missionaries of Charity is registered under FCRA and continues to hold an active FCRA registration,” he said.

Malviya further stated, “The validity of the FCRA registration is till 31-12-2026.”

He also clarified that, “No application concerning its FCRA status is pending as on date.”

Escalating his criticism, Malviya said, “Sagarika Ghose cannot be allowed to brazenly spread falsehoods and evade scrutiny.”

He further alleged that her comments were “a deliberate attempt to tarnish Bharat’s image through misinformation.”

Calling her conduct “reprehensible,” the BJP leader said it “deserves to be called out unequivocally.”

He concluded by stating that, “As a public figure holding a tax-funded position, she must be held accountable for her statements and conduct.”

The controversy erupted after Sagarika Ghose posted on X about Marco Rubio’s visit to the Missionaries of Charity headquarters founded by Mother Teresa in Kolkata.

In her post, Ghose wrote, “Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Missionaries of Charity’s Mother House in Kolkata, saluting their exemplary globally renowned humanitarian service.”

She then accused the Narendra Modi government of hypocrisy, writing, “SHEER HYPOCRISY of @narendramodi government on display.”

Calling the Centre “anti-Christian,” Ghose alleged that the government, “through new proposed FCRA bill had barred Missionaries of Charity from receiving foreign aid.”

She further claimed that the government “is enabling seizure of Church assets,” and added that such measures were “destroying the ability of Christian institutions to do the humanitarian, massive educational and healthcare providing service they are known for.”

Ghose concluded her post by alleging that despite these actions, the government was “now show casing our revered Mother Teresa’s organisation for the international visitor.”

–IANS

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