edited by: Pathikrit Sen Gupta
Last Update: April 03, 2023, 21:29 IST
The emergence of the United Punjab Party comes days after some community members formed a Pentecostal Christian Management Committee on the lines of the SGPC. (Representational image: Twitter/ramnikman)
Analysts say that since the church has a sizeable following among Jalandhar’s Dalit community, the idea of forming a new party at this juncture is being seen as an attempt to tap into this vote bank in the May 10 bypolls. .
A new political outfit of Punjabi Christians, formed amid religious conversions and the growing influence of Pentecostal churches in rural Punjab, on Monday announced it would field a candidate for next month’s Lok Sabha by-election in the reserved Jalandhar parliamentary constituency. constituency.
The emergence of the United Punjab Party comes days after some community members formed a Pentecostal Christian Management Committee on the lines of the SGPC.
An announcement in this regard was made at Pastor Harpreet Deol’s Open Door Church in Khojewala village near Jalandhar. Interestingly, Pastor Deol has come under the scanner of the Income Tax Department, which has recently raided his and other Pentecostal churches at several places in Punjab in connection with alleged unaccounted foreign funding, illegal transfer of money and tax evasion. Raids were done.
Deol runs The Open Door Church in Kapurthala. Various Sikh groups have been complaining against the growing influence of Pentecostal churches, alleging that they were tempting Dalits to convert to Christianity.
Analysts say that since the church has a sizeable following among Jalandhar’s Dalit community, the idea of forming a new party at this juncture is being seen as an attempt to tap into this vote bank for the May 10 bypolls. Is. It is for the first time that a political organization has been formed with the active support of the Pentecostal churches whose influence is growing in the rural areas of the state.
Although Pastor Harpreet Deol was present in the meeting, he denied his role in political activities and said that he would confine himself only to religious matters.
“I support this party because it will give us a platform where we will be able to raise issues related to Christians, such as the need to have more cemeteries or community centres,” Deol said in a video message.
Albert Dua of Ludhiana was appointed as the president of the organization by various Christians attending the meeting. Interestingly, he had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2022 assembly elections. He has also served as a member of the Punjab State Minorities Commission.
The proliferation of churches has recently become a major point of tension in rural areas of Punjab, with Sikh groups accusing them of providing inducements to convert, a charge denied by the church. Some of these Pentecostal churches had also come under the scanner of the IT department.
Although the state’s Christian population is just 1.26 per cent according to the 2011 census, activists believe the actual figure is closer to 15 per cent, as converted Christians remain Dalits on paper and shun their religion to avail reservation benefits. which would otherwise be unavailable to them. Because the church has a major influence on the Dalit population, the formation of such a political organization so close to the Jalandhar by-election is being seen as an attempt by mainstream political parties to divide Dalit votes.
“20% will show their real fangs now. Courtesy useless @SGPCAmritsar & @J_Harpreetsingh ji are in deep sleep. This is a wake-up call for all Sikh institutions. Those propagating Khalistan should save Sikh first or else soon Only this would be Christianity.
read all latest politics news Here
