Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Hibi Eden, K.C. Venugopal and others, and Revolutionary Socialist Party MP N.K. Premachandran protest outside Parliament in New Delhi on Tuesday against the BJP government over the arrest of two Kerala nuns in Chhattisgarh on charges of trafficking and religious conversion.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Three days after two Catholic nuns from Kerala – arrested on charges of religious conversion and human trafficking in Chhattisgarh’s Durg – were released on bail, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, seeking the closure of the cases against them.
MPs belonging to the Congress-led United Democratic Front, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, protested over the issue in the Parliament complex.
In his letters to the two leaders, Mr. Venugopal also sought action against Bajrang Dal members, on whose complaint the two nuns and a man from Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur were arrested on July 25.
The police action had triggered protests from leaders of the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front, the two main political alliances in Kerala. Subsequently, the Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party – the party which governs Chhattisgarh – also expressed support for the nuns and is understood to have lobbied for the State to not oppose the bail plea.
In his letter, Mr. Venugopal wrote that the three accused were unjustly arrested and imprisoned on false charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. “Their arrest, and the events leading up to it, represent a gross misuse of state power, driven not by law but by communal prejudice and political malice,” he wrote, while also highlighting the nuns’ allegations that they were assaulted and coerced by Bajrang Dal members.
He added that the conditional bail granted to the accused after eight days of “unjust incarceration, following sustained protests by the Opposition and the public, including the Christian community”, was itself an indictment of the injustice they were subjected to.
“Considering these disturbing developments, I urge you to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of this fabricated case in a time-bound manner, ensuring that the investigation reflects the truth and upholds constitutional values. At the same time, I also demand that strict legal proceedings be initiated against those who physically attacked the nuns and the tribal women,” he wrote.
Published – August 05, 2025 11:22 pm IST
