Shillong: The Meghalaya State unit of Trinamool Congress(TMC) has condemned the statements made by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj which allegedly legitimises the use of violence against Christians in the state.
“Such statements coming out from a person holding a constitutional office is not only demeaning but is in contravention to Article 25 of the Constitution of India which gives all persons the fundamental right of conscience and right to freely practice, profess and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health” TMC president, Charles Pyngrope said.
He said the proposed survey by the Karnataka government of “identifying people who are Christian by faith and their places of worship is nothing short of witch-hunting and a deliberate attempt to create a communal divide in society, which is highly condemnable and uncalled for.”
Pyngrope added, “Such actions by the state in itself goes to the extent of allowing fringe elements and non-state actors like the RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP and others to single out Christians as well as other minority faith groups and communities in the state”.
Listing out the attacks on religious institutions belonging to the Christian community in Karnataka and also the action by Hindutva groups who continue to act with state support is a dangerous trend which is never witnessed here in the Northeast regions including Assam or Meghalaya, the TMC also questioned the silence of the NPP-led coalition in failing to take up the matter with the prime minister and the BJP.
“The silence of the NPP and the BJP shows that their words and actions do not match up in upholding Constitutional values and the spirit of democracy,” he said.
Urging the public to judge for themselves, Pyngrope asked, “whether we continue to keep mum on such communal politics by other parties on this matter.”
