Kozhikode: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Sunny Joseph has strongly condemned the BJP-led central government's actions surrounding the arrest of two Keralite Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh, calling the move “barbaric and inhumane.”
In a sharp public statement, Sunny Joseph criticized the continued silence of both the central and Chhattisgarh state governments over the recent incident in which two nuns from Kerala, belonging to a Catholic congregation, were arrested while on a pastoral visit to Bastar. “The arrest of nuns without cause and the deliberate attempt to portray them as lawbreakers is a grave assault on India’s democratic values,” he said.
Joseph accused the BJP government of fostering an environment of religious intolerance and discrimination, where even acts of charity or missionary presence are targeted. He alleged that fringe right-wing groups were operating in alliance with state machinery to intimidate religious minorities, especially Christians, in tribal and rural belts.
Terming the government’s silence as “complicity,” he added: “This is not just an attack on two individuals, but an insult to India’s secular fabric and constitutional commitment to religious freedom.”
The KPCC president further demanded the immediate withdrawal of false charges against the nuns and called for strict action against those who orchestrated the harassment. He also urged the Kerala government to take up the matter with the Union Home Ministry and offer all legal support to the victims.
Joseph concluded by reaffirming the Congress party’s commitment to standing with the oppressed and ensuring that such “state-sponsored persecution” is not normalized in India.