Catholic bishops have appealed to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make his new term “inclusive” by treating all citizens equally and upholding the country’s constitutional values. Modi was sworn in for another five-year term on June 9 after his pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the help of allies, se-cured 293 seats in the Indian parliament. The coalition government was formed after the BJP, accused of following a Hindu-first policy, failed to win the required simple majority of 272 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha (lower house). The seven-phased national polls ended on June 1, and results were declared on June 4. The bishops appealed to the coalition government “to work diligently towards upholding constitutional values, ensuring justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity for all citizens.” “It is imperative that the government remains inclusive and committed to the welfare of all sections of society, particularly the marginalized and vulnerable,” said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in a statement on June 9. The bishops said the elections highlighted “the strength of India’s democratic ethos.” The opposition accused Modi, who came to power in 2014, of following policies to turn India into a theocratic Hindu nation in his third term. India witnessed 147 incidents of violence against Christians in 2014, and the number of such incidents spiraled to 599 by 2022, according to records of Christian leaders. Most opposition political parties cobbled together a loose coalition with a slogan to “save constitution” that stresses secularism. But they could win only 234 seats, 38 less than the required number to form a government. The bishops acknowledged “the spirited participation of all political parties” in the elections, which they said exhibited the vibrancy of Indian democracy. “In the ultimate analysis, it is the triumph of Indian democracy. It’s the victory of faceless Indian voters,” said analyst Ashutosh Talukdar from northeast India’s Assam state. In three Christian-majority states in the northeast – Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizo-ram – BJP’s allies were humbled.