Key Points

Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated Chhattisgarh won't oppose bail for two nuns arrested over conversion allegations. The Catholic Church claims the nuns had parental consent but faced assault after detention. Congress and Kerala's ruling-opposition blocs condemned the arrests as religious suppression. Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh's deputy CM accused Congress of attempting to influence court proceedings.

Key Points: Kerala BJP Chief Says Chhattisgarh Won't Oppose Nuns' Bail

  • Chhattisgarh govt agrees not to oppose bail for Kerala nuns
  • Nuns arrested over conversion, trafficking claims
  • Church alleges parental consent was ignored
  • Congress, LDF-UDF condemn arrests as attack on religious freedom
3 min read

Chhattisgarh Govt has agreed not to oppose bail applications of arrested nuns: Kerala BJP chief Chandrasekhar

Kerala BJP president confirms Chhattisgarh govt won't oppose bail for arrested nuns amid conversion, trafficking allegations.

"We hope they get bail in coming days as the state govt agreed not to oppose it – Rajeev Chandrasekhar"

Thiruvananthapuram, August 1

Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said that the Chhattisgarh government has agreed not to oppose the bail applications for the two Kerala nuns who were arrested on the charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking.

"We hope that they get bail in the coming days because the state government has agreed not to oppose their bail," Chandrasekhar told ANI.

"Both the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the Home Minister (Amit Shah) have clearly said that justice will be given to the two nuns who have been arrested there under the local laws. Some mistakes have been made by the nuns in terms of uploading on the portal. Regardless of that, the Church reached out to me six days ago, and we have been working relentlessly to ensure that the nuns get justice and the judicial process moves forward to give them bail," he said.

The nuns from Kerala were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) strongly condemned the arrest, claiming that, according to reports, the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after being arrested.

Earlier today Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma asked whether the Congress was attempting to put pressure on the court by staging protests after two nuns from Kerala were arrested over charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking.

"This has nothing to do with votes. Earlier too, a delegation from the Congress party had come, and we facilitated their meeting with them (the two nuns)," Sharma told ANI.

"But they should understand whether by doing this, they are trying to pressure the court? This is a matter on which the police have taken action; whether bail will be granted or not, the court will decide," he said.

In Kerala, both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the Opposition United Democratic Front condemned the arrest and accused the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of undermining religious freedom.

Today, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor condemned as "a grave injustice" the arrest of two nuns.

"The arrest of nuns is a grave injustice. They have not done anything against the law," Tharoor told reporters in the national capital.

He said that the nuns were just taking some tribal girls to the city for employment.

"Seeing this, members of the Bajrang Dal raised a false alarm and the police came and arrested the nuns. This is not right. When everyone is raising objections to it, they are still in jail for the last one week... BJP's Kerala unit is saying they will travel to Chhattisgarh to get them bail. Nothing has happened so far," he said.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Why is this becoming a political issue? The law should take its course without interference from any party. Both BJP and Congress are using this for their agendas.
R
Rohit P
As someone from Chhattisgarh, I can say forced conversions are a real issue here. But in this case, proper investigation should happen before jumping to conclusions. The nuns deserve fair treatment.
S
Sarah B
The physical assault allegations are disturbing if true. No matter what the charges are, police brutality cannot be justified. Hope there's an independent inquiry into this.
V
Vikram M
Why is Kerala BJP chief speaking for Chhattisgarh government? Shows how BJP is centralizing everything. States should have their own voice in such matters.
K
Kavya N
The nuns had written permission from parents! This looks like harassment by local groups. India's secular fabric is being torn by such incidents 😔
M
Michael C
The technical mistake in portal uploading shouldn't lead to arrests. This shows how complicated our systems are for common people. Need more digital literacy programs.

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