The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has issued a rejoinder to an article written by BJP national vice president M Chuba Ao which was published earlier today in a local daily.

The rejoinder read: “As a Christian politician, aligning with the BJP is the first contradiction to one’s faith. The BJP’s agenda of Hindutva and Uniform Civil Code are by default anti-Christian. Their agenda to establish One Nation, One Religion by force has been conveniently left out of the narrative.”

On whether the BJP can establish this agenda, the NPCC said it is “another question” but “lending one’s political weight to push such agendas towards realisation only gravitates the situation” especially in a Christian majority state.

It pointed out that in 2022, “the engine of BJP – the RSS drafted a constitution for a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ with provision to bar Christians and Muslims from Voting while enjoying all other privileges of normal citizens.” The NPCC then questioned, “How can any citizen be promised to be denied Universal Adult Franchise based on religion?” and further cited that all citizens are equal with equal rights, duties and freedoms under the Constitution of India.

Referencing the visit of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat to Shillong, the NPCC pointed out how the Chief had claimed that “all the inhabitants of India are originally Hindus”. The party further highlighted the profiling of churches and “patterns of religious conversion being undertaken” in the month of December by the BJP Government of Assam through its police department.

Furthermore, the NPCC pointed out Article 25 and Article 26 of the Indian Constitution and how such provisions have come to be considered “unlawful in the context of Christians and Muslins” whereas for Hindus, “they have full freedom to exercise these provisions of the Constitution as per the intended application.”

The party in the rejoinder also claimed, “they (the BJP) have resorted to terming as forced conversions to victimise the churches and missionaries. Today, even peaceful association and worship services are disrupted with violence by applying the term ‘forced conversions’”.

It further claimed that after the BJP government came to power in 2014 “the number of cases of attacks on Christians and Christian institutions has risen alarmingly. Funding of Christian institutions has also been cut off. We have seen pastors and missionaries assaulted and paraded”.

The party also stated that it has “voiced out time and again” the issue even when the state government has remained silent “out of fear”.

It added that more Christians and other minorities will be persecuted with the BJP’s Manifesto’s promise of implanting UCC and the Citizenship Amendment Act.

“These are some reasons why Christians should be wary of the BJP’s multi-pronged approach to establish a Hindu Rashtra,” the rejoinder concluded.