‘Christians under attack at behest of BJP Govt. in MP’

 By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net  

Bhopal, July 5: Since the rightist Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), came into power in central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh not only the members of Christian community were being assaulted but their religious and educational institutions were also being targeted, so that they would feel insecure and the organizations associated with the Sangh family – Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad – could fulfill their designs.
   
After the unsuccessful bid by the BJP government to pass the Religious Conversion Bill in the state Assembly, these organizations have become more ferocious and at the behest of the BJP government they are unleashing their terror tactics on the institutions run by the Christian community day by day and assaulting their church priests and principals of schools. 
   
Former Madhya Pradesh minister and MLA Ajay Singh 'Rahul Bhaiya' made the above allegations in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
   
Citing the recent attack on the community, Singh, who is son of Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh, said that the so-called elements made a murderous attacked on a priest and vandalized the church, school and the residence of the priest at Arjun Nagar in Rewa district on July 2. Though the police have registered a case under section 120 B, but no action was taken so far and that gave encouragement to the accused and they are roaming freely in the entire city and terrorizing the members of the community, he added. 
   
Regretting the passiveness of the state government, Singh said that in 2004 in Jhabua, targeting the Christian Community, these elements first raped a minor girl in the church premises and then unleashed attacks on the religious institutions in the entire district. But the then Chief Minister Ms Uma Bharti neither took action nor put a rein on the organizations responsible for the incident. As a result, encouraged by the inaction of the government, the activists of these organizations attacked a church in Indore in 2005 and then in 2006 churches were ransacked in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Hoshangabad, Itarsi, Betul and other places, he further added. 
    
He lamented that what is more sad state of affairs that the Bajrang Dal activists had stoned the prayer congregation of the Christians and the police stood as mute spectators. This shows the biased attitude of the state government towards the people of the community, besides escapism from the constitutional responsibility of the government. And for that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is directly responsible, Singh added. 
   
Ajay Singh demanded from the Chief Minister that along with the Christian community security should be provided to the minority communities and to give special attention towards the dwindling law and order situation of the state, so that peaceful atmosphere prevails in the state. ([email protected])

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE