India’s Catholic bishops recently condemned law enforcement for failing to prosecute a state legislator who publicly reportedly offered up to $12,663 USD (1.1 million rupees) for violent attacks on Christian leaders.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) expressed “deep anguish and alarm over the growing climate of hostility and violence directed against minority communities in the country” following Maharashtra state Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Gopichand Padalkar’s inflammatory offer and failure of police to respond. Padalkar is a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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In a press statement issued on July 28, the bishops referenced Padalkar’s June 17 speech in Sangli District, Maharashtra state, in which he said, “We should keep prizes for those who bash up missionaries coming to convert people. Rs 5 lakh (500,000 rupees or $5,756 USD), should be declared for the first person thrashing such a missionary, the second one to be given Rs 4 lakh (400,000 rupees or $4,605 USD), while the third one to be given Rs 3 lakh (300,000 rupees or $3,454 USD) as prizes.”
Padalkar also offered 11 lakhs (1.1 million rupees or $12,663 USD) for violence against Christian leaders, the bishops noted.
The CBCI argued that such statements “warrant immediate and decisive legal intervention, particularly when the incitement is explicit, direct, and poses an imminent threat to public order.”
‘Clear instance of incitement’
The bishops said the speech constitutes “a clear instance of incitement to religiously motivated violence, amounting to a grave offense under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 which penalizes acts that promote enmity between different groups and threaten the unity and integrity of the nation.”
The CBCI sharply criticized law enforcement’s failure to act, stating, “Despite this, and despite peaceful demonstrations by thousands of concerned citizens, law enforcement authorities have reportedly failed to register even a First Information Report. This inaction stands in stark contrast to the swift legal response often seen against students, activists and opposition leaders for far less serious expressions, such as social media posts or peaceful dissent.”
The bishops described such selective enforcement as “a grave breach of the Constitution” that “reflects an alarming erosion of institutional impartiality.”
Padalkar made the controversial statements during a torch march in Sangli’s Kupwad area on June 17, targeting Christian priests and pastors whom he accused of forced religious conversions. The remarks came after a 28-year-old pregnant woman, Rutuja Rajage, died by suicide in Sangli District, with the legislator blaming her death on alleged pressure from in-laws to convert to Christianity, though he provided no evidence for such claims.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by Morning Star News.
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