WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner blasted India after it banned the NGO Christian Charity Compassion International from operating in the country, comments that he delivered during confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.
The Republican placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Indian government, and asked Tillerson to have a closer look at the “ill treatment” the NGO received in the country. Christian Charity Compassion International were subject of “multiple coordinated attacks,” Gardner said.
“Since 2014, Compassion (International) has been the target of multiple coordinated governmental attacks because of its unapologetically Christian belief, but it has been delivering humanitarian services to hundreds of thousands of Indian children,” he said at Wednesday’s hearing.
“But due to restrictions by the Indian government, they have been unable to fund its India operation since February of 2016, despite having broken no laws. I believe the State Department should take notice that this ill treatment of Compassion International should stop, and it is part of a broader pattern by the government of India, where other NGOs have seen similar problems.”
Last month, India’s home ministry said it would not be reconsidering lifting the ban, according to a report from The Press Trust of India.
The NGO was designated in the “prior permission category” last May. In India, when an organization is labeled in such a category, it it prohibited from funding any projects in the country without a nod from the government.
Gardner said the U.S. State Department should insist India lift the ban, restore its Foreign Contribution Act license and permit the organization to immediately resume its charitable work.
