protest rally in ranchi
Photo: pti
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Several incidents of alleged attacks on Christians have come to the fore in Jharkhand in the recent past. At the same time, a church was also vandalized in the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh. In protest against all these incidents, hundreds of people of the Christian community protested on the streets in Ranchi on Sunday. During this, the protesters also raised slogans like ‘stop attacking churches’ and ‘stop dividing in the name of religion’.
According to information, men and women under the aegis of Jharkhand Christian Youth Association (JCYA) took out a rally from GEL Church premises to Morabadi Maidan in Ranchi. During this, the opponents also held placards, on which messages like ‘Stop attacks on churches’ were written.
During the protest, the protesters said that some people of the community were targeted during Christmas preparations in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district last month. The protesters also urged the Jharkhand government to ensure peace in the state. Congress MLA Shilpi Neha Tirkey and former Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey also participated in the rally.
During the protest, the Congress MLA said that some forces in the country want to divide the country in the name of religion. Our rally is against such forces. At the same time, Kuldeep Tirkey, president of the Jharkhand Christian Youth Association, said that the purpose of the rally was to register his protest against the attack on Christians in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. We demand the governments of both the states to ensure peace and provide security to the community. He further said that the progress of investigation in the Chhattisgarh incident is very slow and very few culprits have been arrested.
Significantly, on January 2, a church was vandalized in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur town during a protest by tribals regarding an alleged religious conversion. During this, six policemen including an IPS officer were attacked and injured. Investigation is on in this regard.