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The Hindu
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala BJP scrambles to mend bridges with Church leaders after nuns' arrest in Chhattisgarh
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala on Thursday (July 31, 2025) appeared to scramble to mend bridges with Church leaders after the arrest of two Keralite nuns in Chhattisgarh on 'questionable charges' of forced conversion and human trafficking threatened to strain relations and undermine the party's ambitious outreach to the electorally significant Christian community ahead of the local body polls later this year and the Assembly elections in 2026. BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar will likely reach Kochi late on Thursday to apprise top prelates of the attempts taken by the party in conjunction with its counterparts in New Delhi and Chhattisgarh to secure the early release of the reportedly ailing nuns, both senior citizens. The nuns, Vandana Francis and Preetha Mary, of the order of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI), hailing from Kannur and Ernakulam, respectively, are currently under judicial remand in reportedly harsh conditions in Durg Central Prison after a district sessions court recused from hearing their bail plea on Wednesday, citing a lack of jurisdiction. The court maintained that the human trafficking section in the first information report (FIR) precluded the Bench from hearing the case. The alleged involvement of Bajrang Dal, a Sangh Parivar affiliate and youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, in the arrests has put the BJP on the defensive in Kerala. Moreover, the silence of Union Minister Suresh Gopi, who won from the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency where Christians form a decisive electoral bloc, had drawn criticism from the ruling front and the Opposition in Kerala and seemed not to have helped the BJP's ambitions to make further inroads into the minority community's strongholds in central Kerala. Notably, the Catholic Bishops' Council of India organised a mammoth march to the Kerala Raj Bhavan on Wednesday to protest against the arrests. At least three prelates, including Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, led the march by hundreds of members of the laity. Union Minister of State for Fisheries George Kurian said legacy churches in Chhattisgarh were not into proselytism and conversion to Christianity as alleged. He said some 'new generations' were engaged in the activity, which the State law deemed unlawful. He accused the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of attempting to make political capital out of the nuns' incarceration. 'The BJP is trying hard to get justice for the nuns. The Congress and the CPI(M) want them to remain in jail, and their public posturing and controversial statements in Chhattisgarh were an attempt to throw a spanner in the works of the BJP's efforts to secure the sisters' early release. Not one Congress MP from Chhattisgarh has echoed the accusations made by Congress leaders from Kerala in Parliament,' he added. Mr. Chandrasekhar dubbed the Congress and CPI(M) delegations meeting the nuns in Durg Central prison as 'theatrics and opportunist politics.'
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
Chhattisgarh court rejects Kerala nuns' bail pleas
RAIPUR: A sessions court in Chhattisgarh's Durg disposed of Wednesday the bail pleas of two Kerala-based Catholic nuns arrested for alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion, citing lack of jurisdiction. The court directed the petitioners to approach the designated NIA court in Bilaspur for relief. Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, along with tribal youth Sukhmai Mandavi, were arrested by railway police (GRP) at Durg station on July 25 following a complaint from a Bajrang Dal functionary. The complaint accused them of attempting to forcibly convert and traffic three tribal women from Narayanpur district under the pretext of offering employment. The sessions court said it lacked authority under Section 143 of BNS, which deals with human trafficking.
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Congress raises arrest of 2 nuns in Chhattisgarh, says BJP targeting minorities
The arrest of two Catholic nuns in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh over charges of human trafficking and forcible religious conversion reverberated in Parliament on Wednesday as Congress MPs protested outside the house and raised the issue in Zero Hour in Lok Sabha. Demanding the release of the two nuns, Congress MPs alleged that BJP was targeting minorities and instigating violence in Kerala. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category others Healthcare Product Management Others Digital Marketing CXO Degree MCA Artificial Intelligence Data Analytics Data Science Data Science Leadership healthcare Project Management Technology MBA PGDM Design Thinking Finance Operations Management Cybersecurity Management Public Policy Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, as well as a man identified as Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested by the Government Railway Police at Chhattisgarh's Durg Railway Station on Tuesday. According to an FIR registered on the basis of a complaint, they allegedly forcibly converted three women and trafficked them from Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. However, the families of the three women have denied claims they were trafficked. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like War Thunder - Register now for free and play against over 75 Million real Players War Thunder Play Now Undo Congress MPs from Kerala raised slogans in Parliament premises before the day's proceedings began. During Zero Hour, Congress MP K C Venugopal alleged that the nuns had been arrested on false charges. Incidentally, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai arrived in Delhi on Wednesday and has slated meetings with the state's MPs. Live Events Kerala court clears nuns, others in 'trafficking' case Thrissur: In an unrelated case, a court in Kerala has discharged five people -- two nuns and three from Jharkhand -- in a case alleging the trafficking of three underage girls for domestic work, ruling that there was no evidence of threats, coercion or exploitation. The court said the prosecution had "completely failed to establish even a prima facie case" under human trafficking provisions.
The Hindu
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Arrest and unrest: on arrest of nuns in Chhattisgarh
The arrest of two Catholic nuns by the Chhattisgarh police on charges of human trafficking and forced conversion is another instance of growing religion-related harassment. Keralite Sisters Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, from the order of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, were escorting three tribal girls to an Agra convent for jobs when they were apprehended from Durg railway station on July 25 after a Bajrang Dal member filed a complaint. They have been booked under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 (conversion) and Section 143 of the BNS (trafficking). While Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai insisted that the nuns were engaging in 'human trafficking and conversion... through inducement', the kin of the girls have since clarified that there was no forceful conversion and they had given their consent to be taken to Agra. The arrests have led to condemnation across the political spectrum against communal vigilantism. Leaders across political lines have protested. Ruling Left Democratic Front and Opposition United Democratic Front MPs from Kerala held dharnas outside Parliament, and the Catholic Church, through its official mouthpiece, Deepika, and other church organisations too denounced the arrests. This is not the first time that a proselytisation row has erupted involving Christian missionaries. Last year marked 25 years of the brutal killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in Odisha. Despite the fact that the Constitution provides citizens the right to practise and propagate the religion of their choice, several States, including U.P., M.P., Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, have misused provisions of anti-conversion laws that were intended only to prevent conversion through force or fraud or allurement. These laws are often used to criminalise interfaith marriages by labelling conversion by marriage as unlawful. In tribal-dominated regions such as Jharkhand, there is another tension brewing between Adivasis and both Christian tribals and Hindus. While Hindutva groups with the RSS's backing are exhorting tribals to wake up to their Hindu roots, tribal outfits are resisting this and demanding a separate Sarna religious code. Tribal outfits allege that the Hindu groups are doing the same thing as Christian missionaries to subsume their distinct culture. In Chhattisgarh, which has around a 2% Christian population according to the 2011 Census, there is also a debate on whether tribals who are converting to Christianity should be delisted from the Scheduled Tribes. In such a churn, the onus is on political, religious and social organisations to focus on economic development, jobs and welfare. Government machineries should be used to enforce rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, not violate them.
NDTV
20 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Amid Political Row, No Bail For Nuns Arrested In Religious Conversion Case
A court in Chhattisgarh has declined to hear the bail plea of two Kerala-based nuns, who were arrested in Durg on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. On Wednesday, the sessions court in Durg observed that it lacked jurisdiction because human trafficking charges come under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and said the nuns should approach the NIA court in Bilaspur. The nuns, Sisters Preeta Mary and Vandana Francis, will remain in judicial custody. The arrests, which took place on July 25 at Durg railway station, following a complaint by local Bajrang Dal member Ravi Nigam, have ignited a political storm in Kerala, and its impact has been felt in Delhi as well. The ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, the opposition United Democratic Front, the Christian community and Church leaders, as well as the state BJP, have condemned the arrest and called for the release of the nuns. The nuns were accompanying three tribal women from Narayanpur district to Agra, where they were to be trained and offered work at Fatima Hospital. The women and their families have reportedly said there was no forced religious conversion and that they were going of their own free will as adults. 'Protesting Attack On Minorities' The court's decision not to hear the bail petition has intensified the political debate surrounding the arrests. MPs from Kerala staged protests outside Parliament, demanding the nuns' release and accusing the Chhattisgarh government of targeting the Christian community. Congress MP from Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi said the nuns were ill-treated and accused of things they did not do. "We are protesting an attack on minorities. Women should not be manhandled. We demand an end to such atrocities." Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also condemned the arrests, calling them a "deliberate act of harassment" based on a "false complaint", and accused the BJP and its ideological affiliates of prejudice against Christians. He stated that "the same people who walk into Christian homes with cakes and smiles are now hunting down nuns." Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma have maintained that the investigation is proceeding as per due judicial process, emphasising the safety and dignity of the state's citizens. Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, however, has expressed support for the nuns, stating he believes the arrests are due to a "misunderstanding" and that the party stands by them.. Christian organisations and leaders have also accused Bajrang Dal activists of assault and coercion. The Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, has said the fact that the nuns have not got bail has made the community wonder what motivates these people to act in such a way. He said the words and actions of leaders and political parties must not be contradictory. The complaint against the nuns includes charges under Section 143 (trafficking of persons) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 4 (religious conversion) of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968.
