Raipur/Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 29 (PTI) Two delegations, one consisting Congress-led UDF MPs and another of the BJP Kerala unit, on Tuesday arrived in Chhattisgarh to visit the Catholic nuns from the state, who had been arrested recently on charges of human trafficking and forced conversion.
The UDF MPs, including Benny Behannan, Francis George, and N K Premachandran strongly condemned the arrest of the nuns and said they would go to the prison here and try to meet them at the earliest.
“We will first go to the prison and try to meet the nuns. Then, we will contact the officials concerned. Our aim is to get the nuns released at the earliest,” Behannan told TV channels here.
Premachandran alleged that the arrest of the nuns over charges of trafficking and forced conversion was a deliberate and calculated move.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s justification of the police act was proof for the suspicion that it was carried out with the knowledge and support of the state government and the ruling political leadership here, he charged.
Francis George, who was also part of the opposition delegation, sought to know how taking people for a job in a Christian convent would become human trafficking.
He further alleged that the arrest of the nuns undermined the fundamental principles, freedom of movement, and religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.
Meanwhile, BJP state General Secretary Anoop Antony, who leads the saffron party’s delegation, said he would meet the deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, who holds the home portfolio, and directly collect details of the incident from him.
He said the party designated him to ensure a justifiable intervention in the matter.
“It is Chhattisgarh, and circumstances are different here. So, the objective of my visit is to ensure a justifiable intervention in the matter,” Antony told reporters here.
He said he would go straight to the residence of the deputy CM.
“After collecting more details from him, I will meet others in this regard in accordance with his guidance,” the BJP leader added.
The BJP Kerala unit, which came under vehement attack from political rivals and the church leadership, designated a delegation led by Anoop Antony on Monday to visit the party-ruled Chhattisgarh.
The BJP’s move came after two Kerala Ministers, P Rajeev and Roshy Augustine, visited the family of nun Preethi, one of the nuns arrested by the Chhattisgarh police.
They had visited the family here as directed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to offer them the full support of the Left government.
A Congress delegation, led by Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan and UDF MLAs, also visited the nun’s family to express their solidarity on Monday.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), an influential body of the Catholic church in the state, strongly condemned the arrest of nuns, calling it a painful and unacceptable incident, and urged the Centre to take justifiable action.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns, hailing from Kerala, in the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion triggered a political slugfest on Monday with Congress and CPI(M) criticising their arrest and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai accusing the parties of politicising the issue.
Defending the arrest, Sai also said he was concerned about the safety of “our daughters of Bastar.” PTI LGK ADB
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