
Kerala CM Condemns Arrest Of Malayali Nuns In Chhattisgarh, Alleges False Bajrang Dal Complaint
The Railway Police arrested Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethi Mary from Durg Railway Station on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion following a complaint filed by a Bajrang Dal functionary. OnmanoramaOnmanorama The nuns face charges under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (human trafficking) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968 (unlawful religious conversions).
Vijayan termed the arrest "the latest example of the Sangh Parivar's atrocities against the Christian community," asserting that the nuns were detained based on "a false complaint" filed by Bajrang Dal activists. 'Atrocities' against nuns in Chhattisgarh show true nature of Sangh Parivar: Kerala CM The Chief Minister accused the Sangh Parivar of systematically targeting Christians while masquerading their hostility behind concerns about religious conversions and trafficking.
"The people who visited Christian homes and Church leaders with cakes and broad smiles" were now pursuing nuns, Attack On Nuns In Chhattisgarh Exposes True Nature Of Sangh Parivar Alleges Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Vijayan observed, highlighting what he sees as the organization's duplicitous approach toward the Christian community.
The Kerala leader has expressed particular concern about the broader implications for minority rights and constitutional protections, warning citizens to resist such encroachments on fundamental freedoms. Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding urgent intervention and justice for the nuns. Kerala KaumudiOnmanorama
Despite the serious accusations, there has been no corrective action from the central government, with the Chief Minister noting that Chhattisgarh's leadership has defended the arrests rather than addressing the alleged injustice.
The incident has sparked political controversy, with various religious and political leaders demanding the nuns' release and calling the charges fabricated and malicious.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
20 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Two youths attacked, puppy dies in violence at Lko fuel pump
A young man was assaulted by seven - eight people and his two-month-old puppy was killed in the violence, in the Rajajipuram area of Lucknow, on Monday. Police said the attackers and victim knew each other and attributed the attack to one-upmanship. Screen grab from the CCTV footage showing youths assaulting another with puppy in his lap at the fuel pump (Sourced) A video of the incident also went viral late in the evening. An FIR in the incident, which unfolded at a petrol pump, was lodged by Prafuldeep Srivastava, 20, at the Talkatora police station late on August 4. According to the FIR, Srivastava, a resident of Rajajipuram, was taking his pet to the veterinary clinic along with his friend Akshat, when he stopped at the Tempo Stand petrol pump to refuel. Some 7 to 8 people reportedly attacked him. In his written complaint, stated that while he was still seated on his bike, the men began hitting him with sticks and fists. When his relative intervened, one of the attackers, identified as Abhijeet Singh, allegedly struck Srivastava on the head with a metal rod, leaving him severely injured and bleeding. The attackers allegedly also assaulted the relative and, in the chaos, the puppy identified as 'Hickey' was fatally injured. The entire incident was captured on CCTV installed at the petrol station. 'Following the complaint, a case was registered under Sections 191(2), 115(2), and 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, along with Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960,' said Kuldeep Dubey, SHO, Talkatora. 'We are scanning the CCTV footage and efforts are underway to apprehend the culprits' The FIR names Abhijeet Singh and 7-8 other people. Dubey said that Srivastava was acquainted with the attackers, who were of the same age group. He attributed the attack to personal rivalry.


Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
Assam to drop foreigners tribunal cases against non-Muslims who entered state before 2015, cites CAA
The Assam Government has asked district authorities and members of the foreigners tribunals to drop cases against members of six communities – Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi – who entered the state on or before December 31, 2014, citing the Citizenship Amendment Act. The state's home and political department held a meeting on July 17 and had discussed 'issues related to Foreigners Tribunal with reference to Citizenship Amendment Act' and the 'dropping off cases'. The meeting was held following a directive from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The Citizenship Amendment Act is aimed to provide a fast track to citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities, except Muslims, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the condition that they have lived in India for six years and have entered the country by December 31, 2014. It was passed by Parliament in December 2019. The Union government notified the rules under the Act in March 2024. The foreigners tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship based on lineage and a 1971 cut-off date. They rely primarily on documents submitted by persons to establish their family's residency in Assam or India before 1971. The tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. Of the 1.6 lakh persons declared foreigners so far, more than 69,500 are Hindus. The department, under which the border police and the foreigners tribunals function, directed district commissioners, police chiefs and members of the tribunals to submit an action taken report in the matter. 'As per the amendments made to the Citizenship Act, the FTs are not supposed to pursue cases of foreigners belonging to the six specified communities (Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi and Jain communities) who had entered into Assam on or prior to 31.12.2014,' showed the minutes of the meeting signed by Ajay Tiwari, the additional chief secretary, home and political department. Scroll has seen the document. 'It was suggested to drop all such cases,' the minutes added. It added: 'In this regard, the district commissioner and the senior SPs [superintendent of police] should immediately convene a meeting with their respective FT members and also review the developments periodically and submit the action taken report to this department.' The notification sent to district authorities said that 'foreigners should be encouraged and supported' for applying for Indian citizenship as per provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act. It also noted that the Assam government had issued 'clear cut' instructions for withdrawal of all cases filed against persons belonging to the Gorkha and Koch-Rajbongshi communities. 'This should be complied with forthwith,' the government said. In July 2024, the Assam government had asked the state's border police not to forward cases of non-Muslims who had entered India illegally before 2014 to foreigners tribunals. The border police, which investigates citizenship cases, was told by the Assam home department at the time that the undocumented immigrants from the six communities should 'be advised' instead to apply for citizenship on the Citizenship Amendment Act portal, and that their cases would be decided by the Union government. Sarma had said at the time that existing cases would not be dropped. Critics contend that the Citizenship Amendment Act undermines the 1985 Assam Accord between the Union government and the leaders of the Assam Movement, which was launched in 1979 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. The accord stipulates that anyone who entered Assam after the midnight of March 24, 1971, be identified and deported. Assamese nationalist view 'illegal migrants', irrespective of their religion, as a threat to the state's culture and resources. The Citizenship Amendment Act had sparked massive protests in Assam and several other parts of the country in 2019 and 2020. However, the amended law was welcomed by Assam's Bengali Hindus. In August 2019, Assam published a National Register of Citizens with the aim of separating Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state. More than 19 lakh persons, or 5.7% of the applicants, were left out of the final list. In March 2024, Sarma said five lakh Bengali Hindus, two lakh Assamese Hindu groups Koch-Rajbongshi, Das, Kalita and Sarma (Assamese), and 1.5 lakh Gorkhas had been left out of the National Register of Citizens. The chief minister had also said that seven lakh Muslims are among the 19 lakh persons excluded from the register. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had claimed that Hindus excluded from the register in Assam would be able to gain citizenship under the amended law. There have been fears that Muslims would be the only ones who stand to lose their citizenship in such an exercise.


The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
No invite for Pakistani, Bangladeshi diplomats for Bhagwat's lecture series marking 100 yrs of RSS
Addressing a press conference here Tuesday, RSS's akhil bharatiya prachar pramukh Sunil Ambekar said, 'On the occasion of the centenary year, continuous discussions have taken place about the work of the Sangh, its ideology, and direction it wants to take in the coming years. Deliberations have also been held over areas to which the Sangh wishes to channel the energy of its swayamsevaks. As part of the centenary celebrations, there will be a special initiative to convey all these ideas to every section of society.' According to an RSS functionary, the idea is to reach all sections of society and representatives of Muslim and Christian communities are also expected to attend. New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has decided not to invite Pakistani and Bangladeshi diplomats for the three-day lecture series to be held later this month as part of Sangh's centenary celebrations. Invites are also unlikely to be extended to Turkish diplomats, it is learnt. Apart from diplomats, invites for the lecture series to be addressed by sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat will also be extended to academicians, politicians, intellectuals, journalists, industrialists, entrepreneurs, and influencers, among others. He added, 'We are in touch with different embassies but I don't think Pakistan will be invited. The atmosphere is not conducive.' The three-day lecture series will be organised at Vigyan Bhavan from 26 to 28 August. On the third day, Bhagwat will take questions from the attendees. Earlier this year, condemning Turkey's military support to Pakistan, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), an RSS affiliate, had called for economic sanctions against the country. It appealed to Modi to temporarily suspend direct flights to Turkey and revoke aviation codeshare privileges until Ankara halted defence equipment supplies to Islamabad. And in March this year, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said the Yunus-led interim government and the army were not taking concrete steps to stop atrocities against religious minorities in Bangladesh. Given that an interim government is in place in Bangladesh, it is unlikely that an invite will be extended to Dhaka, a senior RSS functionary told ThePrint on condition of anonymity, adding that the process to finalise invitations is ongoing and members from opposition parties in India will also be invited. 'As part of the centenary year celebrations, prominent civic gatherings are being organised all over the country. In various places, several senior functionaries of the Sangh will attend and share their thoughts. Experts in their respective fields will also express their views…,' the functionary added. Unlike in 2018 when a similar event was organised just in New Delhi, this time around the Sangh also plans to organise such events in Bengaluru in November, and Kolkata and Mumbai in February next year. Ambekar said the title of the lecture series is '100-year journey of RSS: new horizons'. 'The idea is to share the 100-year experience … the yatra (journey) Sangh has undertaken. Sarsanghachalak ji will discuss the experience and will dwell on what all needs to be done in the future,' he explained. Explaining the invitation criterion, Ambekar said 17 broad categories have been prepared, which have been further divided into 138 sub-categories to ensure Sangh is able to reach various sections of society. 'There is a lot of excitement amongst swayamsevaks. There was also a discussion within RSS that Sangh has tried to reach all sections of society and what are the issues RSS wants to focus on in the future … the work and views of the RSS also need to be taken to the people in this centenary year, it was felt,' he said. Of the different programmes to be held across the country, Bhagwat will initiate a dialogue with different sections of society in at least four events, Ambekar said. He added that even today a 'colonial parameter' is followed in various fields, including economics and medicine, among others, and there is a need to reassess these parameters. (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: RSS affiliate urges Centre to stay firm, prioritise national interest in face of Trump tariffs, penalties