Modi govt should be asked hard questions on Christian minorities: TMC's Derek O'Brien

New Delhi: TMC leader Derek O'Brien on Friday said the Narendra Modi government must be asked "hard questions" about the Christian community, including why the FCRA had been "weaponised" and the people of Manipur "ignored".

He also sought to corner the church on the issue, days after Prime Minister Modi attended a Christmas celebration hosted by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) in Delhi.

In a blogpost on Friday, O'Brien said voices were coming up from the Christian community that should be raised to the Union government.

"These are the hard questions that must be asked of the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi. Many Christmases have gone by, now answers have to be demanded," said the Trinamool Congress' (TMC) leader in the Rajya Sabha.

"Why did you attempt to turn Christmas Day into 'Good Governance Day'? Why are you weaponising the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) to specifically target institutions run by the Christian community?" O'Brien asked.

"Why have you totally ignored the people of Manipur? Why are you encouraging and passing anti-conversion laws that violate fundamental rights under Article(s) 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution? Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan".

O'Brien also asked why the government was pushing the Waqf bill and "playing minority versus minority", especially in Kerala.

"Why don't you ever say a word condemning hate speeches and crude communal slurs?" he further questioned.

The TMC leader alleged that attacks on institutions run by minorities were on the rise and asked why incidents of violence against Christians were increasing.

"Why did India's National Human Rights Commission lose its United Nations accreditation twice since 2014? Do you remember Father Stan Swamy? Sipper? Straw? Death?" he added.

Swamy, an 84-year-old tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest, died in custody in July 2021 from cardiac arrest after contracting COVID-19.

He was arrested in October 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and spent eight months in a Mumbai prison. He was denied bail on medical grounds several times.

"In my two decades in public life, including three terms in Parliament, I have written columns on a range of subjects but never one on the church in India. This is a first. It needed to be written. More silence on the subject would make me complicit," O'Brien said.

Modi had attended a celebration hosted by the CBCI in the national capital ahead of Christmas. Earlier in December, several Christian MPs, in a meeting with the organisation, had raised concerns over the state of affairs concerning minorities.

O'Brien said several issues were raised by the Christian MPs at the meeting called by the CBCI, during which they urged the church body to "stop photo-ops".

"The Christian leadership should take a stand to call out those who are not protecting the Constitution," the TMC leader added.