GUWAHATI: All India Trinamool Congress has written a letter to the Embassy of the Holy See of the Vatican on Thursday, urging it to take note of the Assam church survey order which amounts to “state-sponsored persecution of Christians”, and asked the embassy to raise the matter in appropriate diplomatic forums with the Centre.
AITC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale, in the letter, addressed to Reverend Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India, Embassy of the Holy See of Vatican, stated: “Through this representation, we wish to apprise you of this extremely serious issue in the state of Assam with an appeal to notify His Holiness Pontifex Maximus as well as The Holy See regarding this state-sponsored persecution of Christians and to take up this issue in the relevant diplomatic forums with the Government of India as you may deem fit.”
The Trinamool spokesperson was referring to the recent order by Assam Police seeking information on the number of churches in the region along with details of people involved in religious conversion.
Several Trinamool Congress leaders, including Meghalaya TMC vice president George Lyngdoh, have slammed the Assam government for the “divisive move”.
In his letter, Gokhale blamed the Assam government for “using the police and intelligence department to target and persecute not only the Christian clergy in the state but also people who have chosen to embrace the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ and convert to Christianity.”
“The right to profess, propagate and practise one’s faith is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. Moreover, international law, as well as the Geneva Convention, recognises the right to freely practise religion and faith of one’s choice as a fundamental human right,” the AITC spokesperson said.
“With the circular, the BJP government in Assam has now institutionalised the persecution and targeting of Christians and churches in the state and is using the state machinery and intelligence agencies to deny Christians the right to practise their faith and to target those that wish to embrace Christianity,” Gokhale said.
In a statement to the media on Thursday, the AITC national spokesperson said that the party had recently held a press conference convened by Meghalaya TMC MLA George Lyngdoh regarding the confidential circular issued by the Assam Police intelligence department, which directs all district superintendents of police to monitor churches and crack down on people who freely wish to convert to Christianity and practise and propagate their faith, which is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India as well as under international law.
“The TMC firmly stands for the rights of religious minorities to practice and propagate their faith and celebrates the idea of secularism enshrined in our Constitution,” Gokhale said.
“The BJP, which has systematically targeted Christians and churches across India, is now doing the same in Assam and will do the same in Meghalaya if elected,” he alleged.
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“As part of our commitment to fight against the BJP’s agenda of division and targeting of minorities, we have apprised the Embassy of the Holy See of Vatican regarding this latest circular by the Assam Police,” he added.
Notably, the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on Saturday distanced himself from the letter seeking information from all superintendents of police in the state on religious conversion and the number of churches established in their respective districts in the past year.
Sarma said the Assam government has not issued any instruction for such an exercise that “might hurt the sentiments of a particular religious community”.
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