Converting people to Christianity was Mother Teresa's motive for helping people - this controversial comment by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat left the government facing opposition fury in Parliament today.
"These comments have been made against a person who is not just the country's, but the world's legacy. No amount of condemnation can be enough," said Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, amid cries of "shame" from the opposition benches.
The Congress said the ruling BJP must apologise for the RSS, its ideological mentor.
On Monday, Mr Bhagwat was attending a function organized by an NGO at a village in Rajasthan when he said, "Here, the service isn't like Mother Teresa's. Her service would have been good but it used to have one objective, to see that the person who was being helped felt obliged to become a Christian. "
The RSS today said, "One has to go by what Dr. Bhagvat has said in its totality. He was dwelling on the concept of service in the Bharatiya (Indian) context."
This morning, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "I worked wid Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hriday ashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Pl spare her."
Mother Teresa, a Nobel Peace prize laureate, founded the Missionaries of Charity, which runs hospitals, shelters and orphanages in several countries. She was beatified in 2003.
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