Kanyakumari BJP MLA has complained that the district administration is helping Christians build churches in places against which Hindu outfits obtained stays. BJP accuses the district collector of breaching the recommendations put forth by Venugopal Commission in the aftermath of Mandaikadu Hindu-Christian riot. The collector is reportedly trying to allow new churches to come up in 54 communally tense areas.
MLA MR Gandhi, BJP District President Dharmaraj and former union minister Pon Radhakrishnan met the collector to petition against church planting. They told the media that the district administration is breaching the suggestions made by the Venugopal Commission to maintain peace in the aftermath of the riot. The commission had recommended that it is preferable to not allow new places of worship anywhere near the already existing ones from different religions. In this manner many applications to build churches near temples were denied permission as it would disturb the communal peace of the neighborhood.
BJP and Hindu outfits accuse the present collector of Kanyakumari district of breaching this norm and allowing Christians to build churches in 54 places where it could disturb the communal peace. BJP MLA MR Gandhi won from the constituency despite the overwhelming presence of Christian community in the district. George Ponnaiah, a Catholic priest who denigrated Bhuma Devi and Bharat Mata had expressed his displeasure at Christians who voted for Gandhi to make him win.
Now BJP says that DMK minister Mano Thangaraj is pressurizing the collector to permit new churches to retain the Christian vote bank and polarise the district by provoking another riot. They pointed out that a church is being built with police protection at a place in Thingal Santhai Puthuvilai against which a High Court stay order exists. Similar attempts are being made at Putthalam where such attempts were thwarted for the past 35 years.
They also accuse Christians of obtaining permission for community halls and residential buildings but using them as churches which is a grave violation of rules. BJP has accused minister Mano Thangaraj’s son of meddling in the affairs of the district administration and directly giving them orders on matters. They worry that the collector and Superintendent of Police are in his pocket doing his bidding.
On November 13, a group of missionaries trying to convert Hindus of Sudapatruvilai village in Kanyakumari were caught red-handed by Hindu activists. They reportedly denigrated Hindu deities calling them evil and Satan and proselytised that only Jesus Christ is the true god. Villagers filed a complaint against them for hurting their religious sentiments and handed them over along with the materials and vehicles they used for conversion.
But the local police only gave a CSR copy and reportedly didn’t file an FIR. It is alleged that even after Hindu activists complained to the SP about it, and he directed the local police to file an FIR, his directions were not followed due to the pressure exerted by the DMK minister. Kanyakumari was bad as it was, but seems to be going worse with DMK in power, encouraging Christian missionaries. George Ponnaiah, the priest who had abused Bhuma Devi and MLA Gandhi threatened that the population of Christian community will soon cross the threshold and Hindus can do nothing about it. The process appears to have been quickened with DMK in power.
