Why the arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh challenges BJP in Kerala
The UDF delegation that visited Durg jail comprised MPs K. Francis George, Benny Behanan, Saptagiri Ulaka and N.K. Premchandran; joining them were Congress minorities cell leaders and Chhattisgarh leaders Arun Vohra and Tamradhwaj Sahu. In Delhi, outside Parliament on July 28, protesting MPs accused the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of targeting minorities.What really happened on July 25? The nuns, accompanied by tribal girls Kamleshwari, Sukhmati and Lalita and a tribal youth, were at Durg railway station. The girls were apparently being taken to Agra for training. A group of Bajrang Dal activists arrived at the railway station and created a ruckus. The nuns were taken to the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station where Bajrang Dal office-bearer Jyoti Sharma allegedly threatened them with dire consequences.Sharma claimed the girls, residents of Orcha in Narayanpur district, had gone to Narayanpur town where they were abducted, and that their parents were also approaching the police in Narayanpur. On the contrary, though, the mother of one of the girls, Kamleshwari, told the local police her daughter had gone with the nuns for work out of her free will.In Kerala, the arrests are reverberating socio-politically. The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of Catholic Church leaders in the country, expressed shock. 'It's a humiliating incident for Catholics in the country. The nuns who went to Chhattisgarh with valid documents to employ three women in a Catholic-run hospital were sent to jail and charged with forceful religious conversion and human trafficking. We do not indulge in conversions of any manner. It seems the constitutional guarantee of minority rights has no relevance in the BJP-ruled state,' Mar Andrews Thazhath, the archbishop of Thrissur and CBCI president, told INDIA TODAY.advertisementThe anger on the ground is palpable. As Felix J. Pulluden, a lay Catholic leader in Ernakulam, put it, 'BJP governments in the states and at the Centre are pursuing their anti-minority agenda. Church leaders sold the Christian community to the BJP and are now raising the pitch over the arrests of the nuns.'With both the ruling CPI(M) and Congress-led Opposition pledging solidarity with the nuns, the state BJP finds itself in a quandary. With an imposing assembly election next year, the party faces the risk of erosion of the Christian community's trust, thought to have been carefully gained over the past few years through a series of outreach initiatives led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.The BJP's Lok Sabha election victory from Thrissur last year was partly credited to the support of Christians. Incidentally, archbishop Thazhath had supported the BJP candidate Suresh Gopi. A litmus test now lies ahead: local body polls in Kerala expected to be held in December. Next up: assembly polls, in which the party aspires to win up to 50 seats and have a formidable presence in the 140-member legislative assembly.advertisementSubscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
As local polls loom, Telangana BJP launches ‘Operation Akarsh' to woo BRS leaders
Hyderabad: With local body elections approaching and the Kaleswaram Commission report casting a shadow over the BRS, the BJP has launched a fresh political offensive, 'Operation Akarsh,' aimed at drawing disgruntled BRS leaders into its fold. The first visible shift came on Monday, when former MLA Guvvala Balaraju resigned from the BRS. According to party insiders, several influential leaders from Khammam and Nalgonda districts are now in talks with BJP functionaries and are likely to switch sides soon. The BJP, which has historically underperformed in these districts, sees this as a crucial opportunity to strengthen its base. The timing is key. The BRS is still reeling from back-to-back setbacks — a poor showing in the assembly elections, followed by a big loss in the Lok Sabha polls. In the aftermath, 10 of its MLAs defected to the ruling Congress. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Now, sources suggest that several former MLAs and prominent leaders from the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district — the home turf of chief minister A Revanth Reddy — are also preparing to exit the BRS and join the BJP. Some are already in advanced talks with senior BJP leaders at the district level. Confirming the outreach, Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao told TOI: "Yes, some BRS leaders have approached us. Our focus is to strengthen the party ahead of the local polls. Any decisions will be made after careful evaluation. We cannot name anyone at this stage." With the BRS reduced to just 39 assembly seats and drawing a blank in the Lok Sabha elections, the party is facing internal discontent and a credibility crisis — giving rivals like the BJP a window to make strategic gains ahead of the next round of elections, a senior political analyst said.
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Attempt to tarnish BSP's image: Mayawati
Lucknow: national president on Tuesday clarified that her party was neither with BJP's NDA alliance nor with Congress's INDIA, or for that matter, with any other front. "BSP follows the Ambedkarite principle and policy of 'Sarvajan Hitaye and Sarvajan Sukhaye', unlike these two, or any other casteist alliance," she said in reaction to a TV channel news report, adding that some media, especially those which were anti-Dalit/tribals and other backward classes and subscribed to a casteist mentality, leave no stone unturned to tarnish BSP's image and cause political damage. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now BSP needs to alert its people against them constantly. She called out a "wrong, factless and poisonous news" on a YouTube channel, saying, "The disgusting attempt made to harm the image of BSP, especially before elections, cannot be condemned enough." She also sought an apology from the channel. "It is a special appeal that party members should always be cautious of such disgusting tactics of the media as part of a political conspiracy and not get misled, because casteist elements are always engaged in some form or the other to weaken the Ambedkarite caravan," she stated.
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Barak leaders slam Malviya for calling Sylheti ‘B'deshi language'
Silchar: Leaders from various parties in the Barak Valley, including BJP, have criticised the party's IT cell head Amit Malviya for calling Sylheti, a dialect of Bengali, a "Bangladeshi language". The remark defending Delhi Police's controversial terminology, has sparked widespread backlash in Assam's Bengali-majority regions. BJP RS MP from Silchar, Kanad Purkayastha, wrote to Malviya, expressing "deep disappointment" over the remark. "You must be aware that at least 50 lakh Sylheti-speaking Bengalis reside in India, with the Barak Valley alone having a majority population of Sylheti speakers," he wrote. Purkayastha pointed out that several MPs, including himself, Sushmita Dev and Parimal Suklabaidya, speak Sylheti, as do many MLAs in Assam and Tripura. Listing historical figures such as Bipin Chandra Pal, Nibaran Chandra Laskar, and Kamala Bhattacharya — all Sylheti speakers — the MP added, "Since this debate has hurt the sentiments of over five million people, I felt it was important to present these facts." Former Silchar MP and BJP leader Rajdeep Roy said, "Over 70 lakh Indians across the Barak Valley, Tripura, and Meghalaya speak Sylheti." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What My Mother Tells Me: Don't Eat Pineapple And Other Pregnancy Myths Undo TMC MP Sushmita Dev said, "Such poor knowledge of our history. Shame on BJP." Various civil society groups and student organisations in Barak Valley have also expressed outrage, terming the remark an affront to linguistic pride. The controversy was triggered after Delhi Police issued a call for translators of the "Bangladeshi language", prompting clarification from Malviya. In his post, he claimed Sylheti is "nearly incomprehensible to Indian Bengalis" and used by "infiltrators", drawing sharp criticism from Sylheti-speaking communities across Northeast India. Political observers say the backlash highlights the sensitive nature of language politics in Assam, especially in Barak Valley where language movements have historically played a major role. With opposition parties seizing the opportunity, the BJP may now be forced to undertake damage control in a region considered one of its strongholds in Assam.
