A good Samaritan
TIME and again, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has stepped in to help vulnerable sections with timely, off-beat interventions. A recent example is the helping hand he extended to the Missionaries of Charity.
In January 2022, the Union Home Ministry under Amit Shah blocked the Catholic religious order and philanthropic organisation founded by Mother Teresa from accessing foreign donations on the pretext that it did not fulfil the eligibility conditions under Indian laws. Incidentally, the organisation’s records show that it had consistently met the eligibility clauses on this count for over 70 years.
Whatever the merits of the Home Ministry’s order, the widely acknowledged humanitarian activities of the Missionaries of Charity were in danger of being severely constrained by it. Naveen Patnaik stepped in to announce that the activities of the Missionaries of Charity would continue in Odisha. The announcement from his office said it would give Rs.78.76 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to 13 institutions run by the charity in Odisha. These institutions run several leprosy homes and orphanages. Additionally, Patnaik instructed all district collectors to ensure that adequate funds reached these 13 institutions and also that no one in these organisations should suffer, especially in terms of food insecurity or health-related distress.
At the political level, the move signalled disapproval