New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday cleared the air about the arrest of two nuns by the Chhattisgarh Police by saying there was a miscommunication and neither trafficking nor religious conversion has taken place.
“It’s now clear that neither trafficking nor religious conversion has taken place. There was a miscommunication in the incident. We the BJP will stand with the nuns till they get justice. If required I myself will reach Chhattisgarh. I have had contact with the Home Minister there,” said Chandrasekhar to the media in Delhi.
Earlier in the day, Kerala BJP General Secretary Anoop Antony on Tuesday met Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma over the issue.
It was on Saturday after the Chhattisgarh Police arrested three persons, including two nuns, on charges of trafficking and forcibly converting three tribal women, things went into a state of flux.
After the meeting, Antony said he had a fruitful meeting with Deputy CM Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio.
“It should be clearly understood that the Anti-Conversion Law in Chhattisgarh is very strict, which became law when the Congress ruled the state,” said Antony.
“A lot of misinformation about this incident is being propagated. It would be nice if people tried to understand the correct picture in Chhattisgarh. It should be understood that there are areas where tribals reside. Also, there are places where the presence of Maoists is very strong,” said Antony.
“At the meeting, Sharma has promised all help. They have sought legal advice, and the law will take its course. What the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh said was based on the FIR. A detailed probe will be held,” added Antony, who further pointed out that three Chhattisgarh women hail from the area where Maoists have had a foothold, and where even the land records do not exist.
The nuns, Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, attached to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a congregation under the Syro-Malabar Church in Alappuzha district, were working at a hospital in Agra.
On Saturday, the two nuns and the man, identified as Sukhman Mandavi, were accompanying the three women from Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district to Agra, Uttar Pradesh, where they had been offered jobs as kitchen helpers at a Convent.
While they were waiting at the Chhattisgarh railway station, they were accosted by Bajrang Dal activists, and the police also arrived on the scene.
Both the nuns and the man were taken into custody and later produced before a local court, which sent them to judicial custody.
Soon this became a big issue in Kerala and among the Christian community across the country, and on Tuesday, a three-member team of Kerala Lok Sabha members — Benny Behanan, N.K. Premachandran and Francis George reached Chhattisgarh.
“We are going to the prison where the nuns have been put up. We will also meet with officials to find out everything,” said Behanan.
Premachandran said all “that has happened is with the knowledge of the state administration”, while George said that it was “surprising that baseless charges of human trafficking and conversion were being spread.”
Father Sabu Joseph, attached to the Raipur diocese, said, “Let the authorities find out what work these sisters are doing there to uplift the poor. Anyone aware of a nun’s job will understand what they have done and what they are doing.”
Meanwhile, the Church leaders are contemplating to move a bail plea for the two arrested nuns.
(IANS)
