Kerala Congress Chief writes to PM Modi seeking intervention in atrocities against Christian pastor in UP

KPCC president K Sudhakaran on Thursday (June 15) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging atrocities on Kerala Christian pastors in Uttar Pradesh. He said that they have been wrongfully detained on false charges.

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress Kerala president K Sudhakaran on Thursday sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the alleged atrocities on Christian pastors from Kerala, notably in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Congressman alleged in his letter to the Prime Minister that five Christian pastors from Kerala had been wrongfully detained in the state on false charges. He added that many people from Kerala have been wrongly accused of crimes involving illicit religious conversion and other similar claims in the BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh. 

Sudhakaran claimed that the government's move against Christian pastors had political, religious, and economical motivations. 

Sudhakaran requested PM Modi to look into the situation after alleging that several people who founded reputable institutions like hospitals, schools, and colleges for social assistance have faced numerous difficulties since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, including harassment, extortion, malicious legal actions, and physical assaults. He also charged the Sangh Parivar organizations of seeking to gain control over and own the institutions these people founded, such as the churches and associated buildings. 

“Local leaders associated with these organisations are leveraging their political influence to intimidate the vulnerable Christian minority community,” the Congress leader’s letter to PM Modi read, adding, “It is evident that these actions are driven not only by political and religious motives but also by financial and commercial interests.”

The KPCC president asserted that FIRs were filed against them without valid complaints as required by the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2023, and claimed that at least five pastors were imprisoned in UP's prisons on false allegations.