Congress slams BJP Sangh Parivar over arrest of Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 27 (PTI) The Congress in Kerala on Sunday vehemently criticised the BJP and the Sangh Parivar over the reported arrest of two Catholic nuns from the state by police in Chhattisgarh.
    According to media reports, the Kerala-based nuns were arrested at a railway station in Chhattisgarh recently on charges of human trafficking and forced conversation raised by right-wing activists.
    AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan cited it as the latest example of attack against minorities in the BJP-ruled states.
    In a post on 'X', Venugopal said attacks on minorities have seen a rampant increase under BJP-ruled states, be it Chhattisgarh, Odisha or Madhya Pradesh.
    "The latest attacks by Bajrang Dal goons on two Catholic nuns in Durg, Chhattisgarh point to a tacit support for such hate crimes from the ruling establishment," he alleged.
    Venugopal said he has written to the Union Home Minister and Chhattisgarh CM demanding strict punishment against these culprits and the urgent need to uphold the Constitution so that fundamental rights of minorities are not threatened under their rule.
    Echoing similar sentiments, Satheesan said witch-hunt in the name of religion or caste is unacceptable.
    In a Facebook post, he alleged that the Kerala nuns became victims of a brutal police witch-hunt.
    A "mob trial" was held against the nuns and a false case was filed against them, he alleged.
    "The rights guaranteed by the Constitution are for everyone. It is not the generosity of the BJP or the RSS. The nuns arrested in a false case in Chhattisgarh should be released immediately," Satheesan said.
    Alleging that the Sangh Parivar are "wolves in sheep's clothing", the Congress leader said that they would come to the churches and Christian homes in Kerala with cakes. "In other places, they will disrupt all the celebrations of Christians. They will attack them brutally. The latest example of this was seen in Chhattisgarh," he alleged.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)