Kerala nuns arrest in Chhattisgarh : Congress, IUML slams BJP govt, CBCI demands action

Kottayam : Political leaders from Congress, IUML and CPM have lashed out at the BJP and the RSS and raised their their strong protest against the arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh.

The non-BJP parties in Kerala have hit out at the state and central BJP leadership for allegedly remaining silent over the matter and not initiating action against the VHP activists.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal called the arrest a grave violation of the religious freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

Congress general secretary and MP K C Venugopal also condemned the arrests in a letter to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. He said the nuns were members of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) who run a hospital in Agra. They were at Durg to accompany three young women for employment at the hospital.

Sister Vandana belongs to Udayagiri parish in Thalassery, Kannur, and Sister Preethi Mary to Elavoor parish in Angamaly, Ernakulam.

According to Venugopal, the nuns were accompanying three young women "with full parental consent for employment purposes when they were targeted".

The Railway Police arrested Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethi Mary from Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh under charges of human trafficking (Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) and religious conversion (Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968). They have been remanded in judicial custody till August 8.

The BJP leadership in the state is yet to respond to the incident which has put them pressure. The BJP in Kerala which was making inroads into the Christian belts of central Kerala has come under pressure following the incident that happened two days ago.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns over the matter. CM has urged the Prime Minister to take action against the perpetrators in the incident and also to free the two nuns from Kerala from the police who have been arrested under false charges.

CBCI reacts to the incident 

"CBCI CONDEMNS HARASSMENT OF CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS WOMEN: DEMANDS ACTION FOR SAFETY AND JUSTICE"

"The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) expresses its outrage and deep concern over the recent arrest of two Catholic Religious Women at Durg Railway Station. This incident is one of the many that took place in the past few months, where Religious Women are subjected to harassment, false accusations, and fabricated cases. It is important to note that in this case the arrest took place despite written consent letters issued by the parents of each girl. All of them are above 18 years of age. Furthermore, it has also come to our notice that they were physically assaulted.

It appears that anti-national elements are tracking the movements of Christian Religious Women, surrounding them on railway stations, instigating crowds, and using abusive language. Such incidents not only threaten the modesty of women but also put their lives in grave danger. These repeated unwarranted actions are a grave violation of the Constitution and cannot be tolerated.

The CBCI demands that state governments ensure the safety of all women and take immediate action to prevent such incidents. We also request urgent intervention from the Union Government to address this issue.

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The Catholic Church will strongly raise this issue on all the appropriate platforms and will oppose any attempt to tarnish the modesty of Religious Nuns and Priests, harassment, and curtailment of religious freedom.

We urge the authorities to take concrete steps to protect the rights and dignity of Religious Women and ensure their safety. The CBCI will continue to monitor the situation and take necessary actions to safeguard the rights of all the minorities".