Missionaries of Charity Tuesday described RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as "uninformed" in the light of his conversion remarks. The Diocese of Calcutta too termed the comments "unfortunate".

"His (Bhagwat) comments reflect how misinformed he is. In Missionaries of Charity, there is no place for conversion. His comments are unfortunate," Mother Teresa's close associate and Missionaries of Charity spokesperson Sunita Kumar told IANS.

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Bhagwat, while addressing a function of an NGO near Bharatpur in Rajasthan, had said the Nobel laureate's service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity.

Sunita Kumar, however, said Missionaries of Charity will not press for an apology from Bhagwat.

"If he realises he has done something wrong, he will apologise. It's for him to decide," she said.

The Diocese of Calcutta, Church of North India too called Bhagwat's remark "unfortunate".

"It's not India but the entire world knows about the contribution that Mother Teresa made to the society and humankind. It's unfortunate that her name is being dragged for political reasons," diocese secretary Abir Adhikari told IANS.

"People from various religions had worked with Mother Teresa and nobody said anything. It's unfortunate that something like conversion is being associated with her," Adhikari added.

Bhagwat's comments evoked strong response from several quarters with the Congress even raising the matter in the Lok Sabha.

Goa Congress condemns Bhagwat's Mother Teresa comment

The Congress in Goa Tuesday condemned the statement by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in which he accused Nobel laureate Mother Teresa of carrying out conversions in the name of social service in India.

In a release here, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee said Bhagwat's statement only confirmed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was the B-team of the Sangh Parivar and was systematically polarising India on religious lines.

"Mother Teresa dedicated her life for the destitute across religious lines. She served the poor throughout her life. Bhagwat with his statement is tarnishing the image of our country internationally," Congress state secretary Durgadas Kamat said.

Bhagwat, while speaking at a function in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, was quoted in the media as saying: "Mother Teresa's service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian."

His remarks have triggered adverse reactions across the country, including Goa, which has a 26 percent Christian population.

"On the one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a pitch for religious freedom while, on the other, the Sangh Parivar is systematically implementing hidden agendas to polarise India on religious lines," he said.

Congress raises RSS chief's comments in Lok Sabha

The Congress in the Lok Sabha Tuesday raised the issue of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comments on Mother Teresa wherein he had said the Nobel laureate's service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity. The government, however, refused to respond on the issue.

"The government has nothing to do with such statements. Individual organisations have every right to speak outside (parliament)," Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said.

The matter was raised by Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia during zero hour.

Bhagwat, while addressing a function of a local NGO near Bharatpur, in Rajasthan had said Mother Teresa's service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity.

Scindia also demanded an explanation from the government on the misprinting of a part of the preamble in a government advertisement, where the word secular had been missing.

Replying to this matter, Naidu said: "There is no question of making any change in the preamble, which was changed in 1976. We do not want to change it. Care will be taken from now to see that the ads contain the amended version of the preamble."

He asked the Opposition to leave the issue and "move forward".

Mother Teresa a noble soul, please spare her: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his comments on Mother Teresa, saying she was a "noble soul" and should be spared.

"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.

Addressing a function in Bharatpur in Rajasthan Monday, Bhagwat said Mother Teresa's service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity.

"People like Mother Teresa did good work and service. But the aim was to convert the poor to Christianity. This kind of service is devalued if conversions are done in the name of service or work," he said.

PM must condemn RSS chief's Mother Teresa remarks: Congress

 Terming the RSS as the "dominant force" controlling the central government, the Congress Tuesday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "unequivocally" condemn Mohan Bhagwat's conversion remarks regarding Mother Teresa.

"RSS is the dominant force which controls the Modi government... the prime minister can't pretend that the BJP has nothing to do with the RSS," Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha told IANS.

He added that the prime minister should not cite it as an excuse to evade speaking on Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Bhagwat's observation that the service of Mother Teresa for the destitute was laced with an "ulterior" motive of religious conversions.

Bhagwat, while addressing a function of NGO near Rajasthan's Bharatpur city Monday, said: "People like Mother Teresa did good work and service. But the aim was to convert the poor to Christianity. This kind of service is devalued if conversions are done in the name of service or work."

Jha demanded that "the government must condemn the statement in unequivocal and unambiguous way on the floor of parliament" that got off to a rocky start Tuesday with the opposition, taking a strong view of Bhagwat's remark.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also strongly condemned the statement Tuesday, calling it "extremely shameful" to think that Mother Teresa had been doing social service with a motive to convert the needy to Christianity.

Nearly a week after Modi reached out to the Christian community to assure them of his government's commitment to "complete freedom of faith", Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh's (RSS) chief Bhagwat stirred a controversy Monday in contradiction to prime minister's stand.

Finding the remark "extremely repugnant", Jha said Bhagwat's talk of Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation) is a reminder that Modi's assurance to the Christian community was "immaterial and insignificant".

"The RSS is in a great hurry to push its agenda of a Hindu Rashtra as anti-minority sentiment is in their DNA," the Congress spokesperson added.