TMC Leader Derek O’Brien | Image: PTI
TMC on PM Modi: Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien on Friday said tough questions should be asked from the Narendra Modi government on the issue of the Christian community, including whether the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has been used as a weapon and the people of Manipur are being persecuted. Why was it ‘ignored’?
Bryan also tried to corner the church on this issue. Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Modi participated in the Christmas celebrations organized by the ‘Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)’ in Delhi.
‘The voice of the Christian community should be raised before the Centre’
In an article on Friday, O’Brien said that the voice of the Christian community should be raised before the central government. “These are tough questions that need to be asked of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many Christmases have passed, answers need to be sought now,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP said.
O’Brien asked, “Why did you try to turn Christmas Day into ‘Good Governance Day’? Why did you use the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) as a weapon to specifically target institutions run by the Christian community?” Are you?”
Why were the people of Manipur completely ignored?
O’Brien asked, “Why have you completely ignored the people of Manipur? Why are you encouraging and passing anti-conversion laws that violate fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution?”
O’Brien also asked why the government was pushing the Waqf Bill and why it was playing minority versus minority, especially in Kerala. He asked, “Why do you never say a single word condemning hate speeches and communal slurs?”
Why are incidents of violence against Christians increasing?
The Trinamool leader alleged that attacks on minority-run institutions were increasing and questioned why incidents of violence against Christians were increasing. He asked, “Why did India’s National Human Rights Commission lose UN recognition twice since 2014? Do you remember Father Stan Swamy? Sipper? Straw?, Death?”
Swamy, a tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest, died in custody in July 2021 of a heart attack after being infected with Covid-19. O’Brien said, “In my two decades of public life, including three terms in Parliament, I have written articles on many subjects, but have never written an article on the Church in India. This is the first time it has been written.” “
Modi had attended a function organized by the CBCI in the national capital before Christmas. Earlier in December, at a meeting with the organization, several Christian MPs had expressed concern over the state of affairs related to minorities. O’Brien said a number of issues were raised by Christian MPs at the meeting called by the CBCI, during which he urged the church body to ban ‘photo opportunities’. The Trinamool Congress leader said, “The Christian leadership should raise its voice against those who are not protecting the Constitution.”
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