MUMBAI, India – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Kolkata, India, early on Saturday, where he visited Mother House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by St. Mother Teresa.

Rubio spent an hour at the headquarters and then visited Nirmala Sishu Bhawan, an orphanage run by Missionaries of Charity.

“It was a joy to welcome him, he wanted Blessings from Mother’s Tomb, it was like a family get together,” said Sister Concettina.

“We were also really surprised to have him visit. We did not expect such a high-ranking dignitary to come here, but it was his wish to visit Mother’s tomb and pray. So we all joined together in prayer and thanked God for the gift of his life,” the religious sister said.

Hindus make up nearly 80 percent of the country, and Christians – the majority of them Catholics – only make up 2.3 percent of the nation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ruled the government since 2014. The party has strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization. Religious minorities have complained of increased harassment since the party took power on a Hindu-first platform.

Incidents of harassment against Christians and other religious minorities have increased across India, with various Christians being detained or arrested for “attempted conversion,” and places of worship being vandalized.

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise concerns regarding the proposed changes to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) reported The Hindustan Times.

Under the proposed changes, a “designated authority” could take over assets created out of foreign funds by an NGO or association with a “foreign” body.

Smith said that the alterations, if they go through, would allegedly disproportionately affect Christian charities and churches. In an op-ed written for the Washington Examiner, Smith argued that the passage of new restrictive amendments “could do lasting damage to the relations between our two countries.”

“If adopted, the bill would sharply expand the ability of the Indian state to seize the property and assets of groups that receive foreign funding — the vast majority of these being Christian churches and charities, such as hospitals and schools. In effect, the total property of entire churches and dioceses could soon be at risk of being taken over by the Indian state,” said the U.S. Congressman.

While acknowledging India’s democratic status and its right to see itself as a “Hindu cultural superpower,” Smith argued that “it is difficult to see how the relationship can develop if the government of India passes legislation designed to set up the expropriation of Indian Christians.”

Father Babu Joseph, the former spokesperson of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said it was “quite probable” Rubio might “touch upon” human rights and religious freedom that are constituent elements of a functioning democracy like the U.S. and India.

“There are legitimate concerns regarding the proposed amendments in the FCRA bill that are unsettling for the non-governmental sector involved in social development in India,” he told Crux Now.

“In particular, the Church in India has been quite active in availing foreign funding to create education and health infrastructure across the country, benefiting all sections of society,” the priest said. “And if the highly indefensible provisions of the bill that purports to take over property on the grounds of non-renewal or lapse of the FCRA license are passed, it will have far-reaching consequences on the church’s s educational and health ecosystem.”

“It’s only reasonable to assume that the donor countries will also have their concern because they provided funds for specific purposes and not for a government to acquire them with no justifiable reasons,” Joseph told Crux Now.

Rubio’s first official trip to India is also meant to stabilize relations with the country after ties  were hurt over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which raised duties on several Indian exports.

“There’s a lot to work on with India, they’re a great ally and partner. We do a lot of good work with them so this is an important trip,” Rubio said ahead of his visit.