Nagaland BJP’s plan to clean church compounds slammed

The Catholic Association of Nagaland (CAN) has criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plan to clean church compounds across the State on May 11.

The association said it doubted the party’s intentions, as five of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha election are yet to take place. The last four of the 25 parliamentary constitutions in the Northeast — all in Assam — are scheduled to go to the polls on May 7.

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In a statement on May 3, the Catholic body said that “any unusual proposal by a political party would be viewed as an election gimmick.” It also pointed out that any plan by a group or party involving another group’s property without taking its consent amounted to a lack of due respect and disregard for the right to property, recognized by the Supreme Court as a human right.

Atrocities against Christians

The association noted the increasing cases of atrocities against Christians across the country, including in Assam and Manipur, with more than 150 such incidents recorded in the first three months of 2024. It was difficult to ignore the fact that most of these cases happened in BJP -ruled States, with the same party ruling at the Centre, it said in the statement.

“The Catholic church reserves the right over its religious properties,” the CAN said, advising BJP members to earn the goodwill of the people by urging their counterparts elsewhere in the country to take action against the persecution of minorities, ensure justice to the victims, and restore and protect church properties.

The BJP plan also attracted flak from within. “As a political party, the BJP is not supposed to take unwarranted decisions without first consulting the church leaders,” the party’s MLA, Imkong L. Imchen said.

Nagaland is a Christian-majority State.