Edhi refuses Rs 10m donation from Modi

Lahore: Renowned social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi has refused to take Rs 10 million donation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

“I thanked PM Modi for his generous offer but have refused to accept the donation from him,” Edhi told The Nation. When asked the reason for refusing the amount he said, “We can’t take money from them.”

Edhi looked after Geeta the Indian girl, who had crossed over the border into Pakistan 12 years ago.  Upon Geeta’s safe return to India, PM Modi thanked Pakistan and announced a donation of 10 million Indian rupees to Edhi Foundation.

“Geeta was a good child and we have sent her with our best wishes. Since she has gone back home, we will not be having any contact with her in the future.”

Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a thank you message to Edhi and his Foundation for looking after Geeta, the deaf and mute girl. To express his gratitude to Edhi Foundation he tweeted, that he was going to donate 10 million rupees to the foundation. Modi had also praised Edhi and his foundation saying he was an apostle of kindness and the true torch bearers of humanity. “If people like them existed half the issues of people would be resolved,” the Indian prime minister had said. Modi also called the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to thank him for looking after the child and ensured her safe return to India.

Presently Edhi’s wife Bilqis Bano is in India to hand her over to the original parents. On the other hand in India, apart from a family from the eastern state of Bihar that Geeta identified from photographs, and later met in Delhi, at least two other families claimed her as their daughter. The India’s Foreign Minister Ms Swaraj said Geeta would be counseled in this regard and a DNA test to prove her lineage will be carried out. However If the tests are negative, she will be placed in a shelter home until her family is traced, Indian officials said.

"Whether or not her parents are found, Geeta is our daughter. I thank Pakistan from the core of my heart for looking after her for so long."

This article was published in The Nation on 27 Oct 2015