A Catholic Church-organized program in New Delhi has called on Indian politicians to cease being divisive and using religion as a way of attracting votes. Prominent opposition leader Mamta Banerjee was among several speakers voicing concerns over the divisions in Indian society during an assembly organized by the Indian Catholic bishops’ conference on July 31. “Some people are trying to divide the country in the name of religion, caste and creed. But we can’t sit here as mute spectators,” Banerjee, chief of Trinamool (grassroots) Congress party, told the gathering of 1,000 people. “Time has come for us unite and raise our voices,” she said. With the theme of “Love your neighbour,” the assembly was held as leaders of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) press their pro-Hindu ideology ahead of general elections early next year.
Banerjee, who is also the chief minister of West Bengal State, said the theme of the gathering was rightly chosen because “some communal forces are trying to dictate what we should eat, dress and how we should practice our faith.” She was alluding to cases of harassment and violence committed against Christians and Muslims by hard-line Hindu groups ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power leading the BJP in 2014.
Leaders like Banerjee accuse BJP governments in New Delhi and most northern Indian states of supporting Hindu groups who attack religious minorities in an effort to project the party as a pro-Hindu champion.
