A pro-Hindu group has sought action against a Catholic arch-bishop, accusing him of violating the country’s poll code by trying to influence voters on religious grounds amid India’s ongoing national elections. The Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, wants the Election Commission of India to take action against Archbishop George Anthonysamy of Madras-Mayla-pore in southern Tamil Nadu state. The forum’s April 29 complaint was about an editorial Anthonysamy wrote in the arch-diocesan fortnightly The New Leader Weekly. While highlight-ing India’s current socio-political situation, he also referred to the plight of Christians and Muslims under Modi’s rule since 2014.
The forum alleged it was an attempt “to influence voters on religious lines,” so Anthonysamy violated the election code. In his guest editorial, Anthonysamy, president of the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, wrote that Chri-stians, who comprise 2.3% of India’s 1.4 billion people, must ensure 100% voting. “Let us all vote,” he wrote, calling the ele-ction a “significant one… an ele-ction between two contrasting ideologies.” Editor Father Antony Pancras said they stood by the guest editorial and denied the allegation it violated the poll code. “The archbishop indeed tried to inform people about the plight of the country’s people, especially the minorities,”