In an update to the anti-nuclear protests from the year 2012 that were led by church groups who allegedly received illegal foreign funds for the purpose in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu, the MP of Narasapuram Lok Sabha Constituency, Raghu Ramakrishna Raju has written to the Home Ministry seeking action against large scale violation of FCRA rules and misuse of foreign funds by the Christian organizations.
The letter dated 7th December demanded an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into the matter of receipt of foreign funds by the organizations named ‘the Tuticorin Diocesan Association’ (FCRA No: 076030031) and ‘the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society’ (FCRA No: 76030038). The complaint stated that these organizations continue to receive overseas ‘donations’ despite cancelling their FCRA registrations and freezing bank accounts by the Government of India in 2015.
In the year 2015, the then Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju suspended the FCRA registration of the Tuticorin Diocesan, Association and 2 other NGOs based on the adverse reports received from the intelligence agencies. The government then froze the bank accounts of the said NGOs and stated that the organizations were using foreign funds for anti-national activities.
In a most significant move, the Hon'ble MP of Narasapuram Lok Sabha Constituency Sri Raghu Ramakrishna Raju wrote to Sri Amit Shah and Home Secretary for action against large scale violation of FCRA rules & misuse of foreign funds by Tuticorin Diocesan Association & its ally NGO pic.twitter.com/wy8gJbXFAV
— Legal Rights Protection Forum (@lawinforce) December 7, 2023
However, Raghu Ramakrishna Raju revealed in the complaint to the Home Ministry on 7th December that the NGOs continue to receive foreign funds in their respective FCRA-designated bank accounts which were said to have been frozen by the government. As per the complaint the Tuticorin Diocesan Association is said to have received Rs. 4,45,07,214 in its Bank of Baroda account designated to receive foreign funds.
The said funds were received by the NGO from the financial year 2015-16 to 2017-18 in the name of the Welfare of Children, maintenance and construction of Orphanages. Some transactions were also made in the name of ‘Mass Intention’ which has no specific description.
“A large amount of foreign funds received by the Tuticorin Diocesan Association to its ‘Frozen’ bank accounts were transferred to the individual accounts of its office bearers. The NGO also transferred the illegal money to another account with Syndicate Bank at the Tuticorin Branch. In addition, Rs. 1,25,00,000 out of the foreign funds were transferred to a few construction companies from the frozen bank account of the Tuticorin Diocesan Association post cancellation of its FCRA license. The reasons for such a transfer of amount are to be investigated,” the complaint read.
Notably, it has also come to the fore that a large portion of foreign funds, around Rs 1.6 crores, received by the Tuticorin Diocesan Association after the suspension if its FCRA license has come from Apostolic Nunciature India, a diplomatic entity of the Vatican government having its office in New Delhi. The amount transferred by Apostolic Nunciature India from 2016 to 2018 was shown as a foreign contribution by the NGO in question.
As per the letter copy, the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society which claims to be a sub-entity or social wing of the Tuticorin Diocesan Association (FCRA: 076030038) also received Rs 34,81,691 as foreign funds in its account after it’s FCRA license had been suspended.
“The intention of the diplomatic organization to fund the NGO which has lost its FCRA license and its bank accounts were frozen by the Government of India by declaring its activities as ‘Anti-National’ should be investigated,” the MP noted in the complaint.
The bank accounts of the NGO which were frozen by the government are operational even after the government action and most of the foreign funds are being obtained in the name of Child welfare activities. “This raises concerns. We request you take the necessary action by referring the matter to the Enforcement Directorate to immediately register a case in this matter and to conduct a detailed investigation of the activities of the Tuticorin Diocesan Association and Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society,” the complaint read.
It is important to note that these NGOs had a major role to play in organizing and leading the protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, which was developed in collaboration with Russia in the year 2011-12. The NGOs were associated with Bishop Yvon Ambroise, the Tuticorin church leader, who had been active in mobilizing popular support for the protests at Kudankulam back then.
Church-backed activism fueled the Kudankulam protest in Tamil Nadu
In the year 2011, the Church-sponsored rabble-rousers and hooligans delayed the critical Kudankulam power plant, hitting the country at a time when energy requirements were rapidly increasing. The majority of those who took part in the Nagercoil protest marches were from various Catholic churches. Several churches and NGOs including the Tuticorin Diocese Association (TDA) and the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS) drew fear among the people against the nuclear facility and advised people to participate in the protests against the Kudankulam project.
The Kudankulam Nuclear Power situated in the state of Tamil Nadu was conceptualized as the largest Nuclear Power plant in India with a total capacity of 6000 MW. The construction of the plant began way back in 2002 but it was marred by constant protests.
This protest reached a boiling point in 2011 when the villagers reportedly feared that a Fukushima-type disaster might befall the Nuclear plant. As reported earlier, one of the prominent leaders of the anti-Kudankulam movement was the then SP Udayakumar, who led the People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy.
Incidentally, this whole protest had come under suspicion way back in 2012 when there were reports about the protest being allegedly backed by the Church and various foreign parties emerged. In 2014 there were further allegations after an alleged IB report had claimed that Udayakumar had been working on the behest of various American and German entities to subvert the development of India.
The then-Union Minister V Narayanasamy asserted that Bishop Yavon Ambroise of Tuticorin had received Rs 54 crore and was the driving force behind the demonstrations. Many Christian organizations, such as People’s Education for Action and Liberation and Good Vision, were identified as troublemakers by the Home Ministry. The list also included the Tuticorin Diocese Association (TDA) and the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS).
The Union Home Secretary said in 2012 that four non-governmental organizations’ bank accounts including the Tuticorin Diocese Association (TDA) and the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS) had been seized after it was determined that they had been utilizing money from foreign sources to fund anti-nuclear protests. The CBI filed two cases, while the Tamil Nadu police Crime Branch filed two.
Moreover, in 2017, Republic TV came up with a sting operation on Udyakumar and various members of the Tamil Nadu Church, which seemed to further corroborate the “foreign-funded protest theory”.
The reporters then followed the Church-backed protest angle and zeroed in on a Church in Idinthakarai which according to them was a hub of anti-nuclear protests. They reportedly stung a Parish priest named Jayakumar who managed the money used in the protest. He had selected 70 people who were set up as a front while he and the Diocese controlled things from behind the curtains. Apparently, he took care of all the protests in Idinthakarai and there were 13 other Fathers who similarly managed 13 other villages.
The report also claimed that this whole church involvement was orchestrated by a Bishop who had suggested that Jayakumar operates from the background. The Bishop was incidentally the person who was withstanding all the external ‘pressure’ like the cancellation of their FCRA license.
The reporters also interviewed a villager who claimed that all the NGOs were run by Bishops who paid money to Christian people if they took part in the protests. Through these sting operations, it appeared that the main motivation for the whole protest was not an aversion to Nuclear Power but a desire to earn money.
LRPF confirms NGO’s anti-national activities to OpIndia
The Legal Rights Protection Forum while talking to OpIndia confirmed that “the bank accounts of these NGOs were frozen by the government in the year 2015. Their FCRA license had also been canceled. However, they continue to receive foreign funding under the name of child care or ‘mass intention’ which nobody knows what it means. These NGOs undertake anti-national activities and the same was noted by the government. Strict action against such NGOs is a must,” LRPF said.
