GUWAHATI: The controversy surrounding an Assam Police Special Branch SP’s “secret” letter to all SPs in the districts seeking information on churches and religious conversion in the region stoked a political storm in neighbouring and election-bound Meghalaya.
The Trinamool Congress, which managed to make some inroads into Meghalaya, albeit through a “coup”, wrote a letter on Thursday to the Embassy of the Holy See of the Vatican urging it to take note of the Assam church “survey order”. The party said the act amounted to “state-sponsored persecution of Christians”.
The party urged it to raise the matter at the appropriate diplomatic forums with the Government of India.
In the letter to Reverend Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India, Embassy of the Holy See of Vatican, TMC’s Saket Gokhale wrote, “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 Govt of India as you may deem fit.”
The TMC spokesperson was referring to the order by the “Assam Police” seeking information on the number of churches along with details of people involved in religious conversion. Earlier, several TMC leaders, including its Meghalaya vice president George Lyngdoh, slammed the Assam government for the “divisive move”.
In the letter, Gokhale alleged the Assam government was 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, recognizes the right to freely practise religion and faith of one’s choice as a fundamental human right,” Gokhale said.
The BJP said ahead of the 2018 Meghalaya elections, videos and photos, dating back many years, were used against the party by its rivals as “false propaganda” after failing to stand its growth.
The National People’s Party, which heads Meghalaya’s ruling coalition, said some political parties were trying to score brownie points on “communal lines”.
Recently, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma “completely dissociated” himself from the SP’s letter. He had asked the Director General of Police to get the matter probed.