New Delhi, India - When the Pope disapproved of laws he said were affecting religious freedom in some Indian states a few days back, the central government had reacted strongly.
But now the Congress-led government has asked the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to conduct an “on the spot assessment” of complaints of atrocities on Christians in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan - all ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gujarat, also ruled by the BJP, has been left out.
Laws against conversion are in place in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In Rajasthan, a bill passed by the assembly in April awaits the governor’s assent.
Union Minister for Minority Affairs A R Antulay told this website’s newspaper that his ministry was concerned about the huge number of complaints from these states and had therefore decided to send a team for a reality check.
Antulay said the NCM team would submit report to his ministry.
While accepting letters of credence from Amitava Tripathi, India’s new ambassador to the Vatican, the Pope had spoken about “disturbing signs of religious intolerance which have troubled some regions of the nation, including the reprehensible attempt to legislate clearly discriminatory restrictions on the fundamental right of religious freedom.”
The government had conveyed its displeasure on the Pope’s comments, and the Minister of State for External Affairs had stated in Parliament that the Pope was ill advised about India.
However, Christian organisations have been alleging that there have been several instances of atrocities on community members in these states. They have complained of “atrocities on the community” and “state-sponsored persecution” on the pretext of checking conversion.