Shillong: Meghalaya’s opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday said vandalisation of Churches in the country has become a regular feature since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre and subsequently in different states.
“We have been saying on a regular basis that in different parts of the country, particularly in BJP-ruled states, this kind of vandalism on Churches and attacks on religious leaders and Church leaders are being reported. This is basically an indication that BJP has got its hidden agenda, and they are trying to fulfil it,” senior TMC legislator Zenith Manda Sangma said while condemning the attack on a St Mary’s Church and vandalising the statue of baby Jesus in Mysuru’s Periyapatna in Karnataka on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference Sangma alleged that the BJP has the intention to destabilize or disturb peaceful worshipping of Christian communities in different churches.
“We condemn the act of barbarism and divisive politics by the BJP Government in Assam. We also condemn vicious attacks on the Churches and our religious leaders as it has become normal in all the BJP-ruled states,” he said.
Stating that Meghalaya TMC cannot turn a blind eye looking at the hypocrisy of the BJP government, Sangma said, “We cannot stay as silent spectators, and we are not spineless. Therefore, we will fight till the end, and we cannot allow our great nation to be broken into pieces and the secular fabric to get destroyed. Hence, we will collectively fight against this cruel and discriminatory act of the BJP government in different states.”
Lambasting the BJP government over hate politics towards the Christian fraternity, the TMC leader said, “Today, we see that Church is being persecuted in every BJP-ruled state. We never heard about such attacks in our North East states. However, ever since the BJP Government came into power in Assam, we come across such incidents of extreme tribulation to the Christians. BJP is working to fulfil its hidden agenda. Recent incidents where Churches are being vandalised, the Pastors and Church leaders getting whiplashed in Maharashtra, Karnataka indicate that the Christian community is getting suppressed by the BJP.”
“The people know that the BJP government in different states is acting against the Constitution. We can see the founding leaders of our great nation have envisioned and framed the constitution in such a way wherein there is inclusiveness so we can carry along every community throughout the country,” he added.
On December 26, Meghalaya TMC State Vice Presidents George B Lyngdoh and James Lyngdoh demanded answers as to why the Assam Government was seeking such details. The party also said that this was an attempt to “humiliate people and derail the Christmas spirit.”
