Christians belonging to various denominations in Kolkata protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protest rally started from St. Paul’s Cathedral and culminated at the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road, 1.5 km north. “The CAA is against the very spirit of our Constitution and infringes upon the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India to its citizens irrespective of caste, creed and religion. We express our sincerest solidarity with every citizen and resident in different states of India as we are united in our diversity as one united India,” said Father Rodney.
The protest rally was taken out under the joint banner of BangiyaChristiyaPariseba and Bengal Christian Council. The protesters held placards that read “No division among people,” “We are all children of Jesus” and “No CAA.” They also chanted hymns in English and Bengali. “We only wanted to drive home the message that all are equal and we should not discriminate between religions and communities,” said the principal of a renowned missionary school. Besides several Christian priests, many religious leaders from other communities also turned up to support the cause.
“We are noticing that some groups are giving open calls to eliminate the religious minorities and convert our democratic, sovereign and secular India into a so-called ‘Hindu state’. Minorities feel insecure by such oppressive calls by those fanatic groups,” added Father Rodney.
The participants of the rally placed three demands forward “ withdrawal of the CAA, stoppage of NRC and ensure the safety of minorities.
(Extracted from mattersindia.com)
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