New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Wednesday slammed Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi for their protest against arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced conversion, alleging that the lawmakers are standing by the law-breakers to shield them.
This came after Congress members from Kerala raised the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour and demanded the government intervention for the release of two nuns, terming their arrest “deeply disturbing and shocking”. Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) member N K Premachandran and other opposition MPs also joined the Congress to condemn the arrest.
They also held a protest in the Parliament House complex against the arrest of two nuns.
Slamming the Congress, VHP national secretary general Surendra Jain said, “The way Congress-Christian ecosystem has become active and is doggedly defending the two nuns and their accomplice involved in human trafficking in their bid to free them from the clutches of law is highly condemnable and worrying.” “Two nuns were found with three tribal girls of Narayangarh in Chhattisgarh. Due to suspicious activities, local citizens called the police at Durg railway station and both the nuns were arrested on charges of human trafficking and illegal conversion,” he said.
“Whenever a church is caught in unlawful activities, the entire anti-Hindu ecosystem stands in their favour. Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal have stood by them,” he charged.
Jain alleged that some MPs and politicians from Kerala had gone to Raipur on Tuesday to “pressure” the Chhattisgarh government to secure release of those accused of illegal conversion and human trafficking in the state.
“The lawmakers are standing by the law-breakers to shield them, instead of allowing the law to take its course,” he said.
He also demanded that the Centre bring a strict law to check illegal religious conversion.
On July 25, two nuns, Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested at the Durg railway station in the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.
A sessions court in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Wednesday disposed of the bail application of the two nuns, saying it does not have the jurisdiction to hear cases under section 143 (human trafficking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The court said they may have to move a special court for relief, lawyer Rajkumar Tiwari told PTI.
The two nuns, who hails from Kerala, are currently lodged in the Durg central jail. PTI PK PK KVK KVK
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