NEW DELHI: AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Friday flagged attacks on the Christian community in Bengal in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking, “Modi ji, don’t the people of the Christian faith have the right to live in this country?”
Singh said the reported attacks on churches and Christian gatherings in Bengal reflect a “disturbing pattern” of organised intimidation, vandalism, disruption of worship and misuse of conversion allegations to target minorities.
“Modi ji, don’t the people of the Christian faith have the right to live in this country? UP, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, and now West Bengal—violent attacks are happening against the Christian community everywhere, churches are being demolished. Why don’t you say something? Do these thugs involved in these incidents have your silent support?” the AAP Rajya Sabha MP said in his letter, which he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
He referred to an incident in Sonarpur near Kolkata, where a mob targeted an under-construction church in Subhasgram on July 5, alleging illegal conversion, damaging the premises and destroying three crosses installed atop the building.
Similar incidents were reported from other parts of Bengal. In Paschim Medinipur, a Thanksgiving prayer meeting and a Christian couple’s wedding reception were allegedly disrupted, women assaulted, and their traditional marital symbols forcibly removed.
In Purba Bardhaman, Grace Church was allegedly attacked during Sunday worship, with its prayer hall vandalised and valuables looted. The Bangiya Christiya Pariseba, a forum representing various Christian denominations, has announced a protest rally on July 14 and plans to submit a memorandum to the governor over the incidents.
Singh alleged that police action has largely been absent and claimed that in some cases church leaders and pastors have faced criminal proceedings instead of those accused of vandalism.
Singh also pointed to incidents outside Bengal, including an alleged attack on a house church in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli, where a mob armed with bamboo sticks and knives reportedly vandalised the premises and assaulted a pastor and his wife.
He claimed similar incidents had occurred in several districts of the state, including Unnao, Kaushambi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Saharanpur, Maharajganj and Kanpur.
The situation in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh was “equally disturbing”, he said claiming reports suggested local political involvement in attacks on Christians while members of the community were forced to move the Supreme Court merely to conduct prayer meetings.
Singh also cited reports that a tribal Christian family in Chhattisgarh’s Todopur village fled into nearby forests after allegedly being given the choice of either leaving Christianity or leaving the village.
National media had also reported a series of attacks on Christians during Christmas last year, allegedly carried out by Hindutva-affiliated groups, drawing sharp criticism from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
Agencies