Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday claimed two Catholic nuns were jailed in Chhattisgarh for their faith and alleged that a 'systematic persecution' of minorities was taking place wherever the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power.
Three persons, including two nuns, were arrested at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh over alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Sukaman Mandavi and nuns Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis, were apprehended on Friday, he said.
The action was taken following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, accusing the trio of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them, the official said.
A case was registered under the Chhattisgarh Religious Conversion Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act after the statements of the girls and interrogation of the three accused, the official said.
"The girls said the nuns were taking them to Agra in Uttar Pradesh on the pretext of jobs. The girls said that Mandavi had brought them to Durg railway station, from where they had to go to Agra with the two nuns," the GRP official added.
Noting that religious freedom is a constitutional right, Gandhi demanded the immediate release of the nuns and accountability for the injustice committed against them.
United Democratic Front MPs, including Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, staged a protest in the Parliament House complex on Monday over the arrest of the nuns hailing from Kerala and demanded their immediate release.
'Two Catholic nuns jailed in Chhattisgarh after being targeted for their faith - this isn't justice, it's BJP-RSS mob rule. It reflects a dangerous pattern: systematic persecution of minorities under this regime,' Gandhi said in a post on X.
'UDF MPs protested in Parliament today. We will not be silent. Religious freedom is a constitutional right. We demand their immediate release and accountability for this injustice,' the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also said.
In the Parliament complex, a group of UDF MPs, including Venugopal, Revolutionary Socialist Party's N K Premchandran and Indian Union Muslim League's E T Mohammed Basheer, protested in front of the Makar Dwar steps before the start of the day's proceedings.
They carried posters like 'Stop attacks on minorities' and demanded action against those behind the arrest of nuns.
In a post on X, Venugopal said, 'UDF MPs held a strong protest outside Parliament today against the shocking arrest and harassment of Catholic nuns in Durg in Chhattisgarh. They were targeted by a violent mob despite no wrongdoing.'
'By the BJP-RSS ecosystem, all minorities are treated as criminals and lumpen elements are unleashed to intimidate fellow citizens practising their faith. This jugalbandi between Bajrang Dal goons and the police in Chhattisgarh shows the BJP's real intent towards religious minorities,' Venugopal said.
'We demand their immediate release and justice for the innocent nuns,' he said.
The Congress in Kerala on Sunday had vehemently criticised the BJP and the Sangh Parivar over the reported arrest of the Catholic nuns.
Venugopal and the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, cited it as the latest example of an attack against minorities in the BJP-ruled states.
In a post on X on Sunday, Venugopal said attacks on minorities have seen a rampant increase under BJP-ruled states, be it Chhattisgarh, Odisha or Madhya Pradesh.
"The latest attacks by Bajrang Dal goons on two Catholic nuns in Durg, Chhattisgarh, point to a tacit support for such hate crimes from the ruling establishment," he said.
Venugopal has also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, demanding strict punishment against these culprits and the urgent need to uphold the Constitution so that fundamental rights of minorities are not threatened under their rule.
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