New Delhi [India], August 7 (HBTV): Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the party's state unit has reached out to the Chhattisgarh government over the arrest of two nuns in Durg, clarifying that there was "no issue of trafficking or conversion."

The two Kerala-based nuns were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25 on charges related to human trafficking and religious conversion.

Speaking to ANI, Chandrasekhar said, "We have immediately reached out to the government of Chhattisgarh and clarified that these are nuns who were accompanying three adult women with the consent of their families for jobs. Therefore, there was no issue of trafficking, nor was there an issue of any conversion."

Chandrasekhar said he remains hopeful that the Chhattisgarh government will take the necessary steps."I am hopeful that the government of Chhattisgarh will deliver justice to these two nuns who have been charged with this," he added.

Meanwhile, the Opposition has criticised the BJP over the arrest, accusing it of targeting Christian minorities and suppressing legitimate rights.

Speaking to the media in Durg, senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said, “We wrote a letter to the CM and also raised this issue in the Lok Sabha. A delegation of MPs and MLAs from Kerala had come to meet them, but they were told to come tomorrow because a BJP delegation was in Raipur. So they were not allowed to meet. I told the DG they should be allowed to meet, or we would stage a sit-in here... now their meeting has happened.”

In Delhi, veteran Congress MP K. Suresh blamed right-wing elements for the incident. “After the BJP came to power in Chhattisgarh, Christian minorities are attacked every day by Bajrang Dal with the support of the BJP government. Two days ago, two girls came with consent to join the nuns for work. But Bajrang Dal decided that these nuns had taken two girls for conversion from Hinduism to Christianity. So they attacked the nuns. After that, Chhattisgarh Police filed an FIR. The two innocent nuns and the girls are in jail...,” he said.

On July 27, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) also strongly condemned the incident, stating that the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after their arrest.  

(ANI)