Members of the Christian community in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district formed a human chain as a mark of protest against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Raymuni Bhagat for her alleged remarks against Jesus Christ and religious conversions.
The peaceful demonstration, the permission of which was given by the police, began from Pathalgaon stretching to Lodum along the Katni-Gumla highway.
Anil Kumar Kispotta, president of the Christian Adivasi Mahasabha, said the protest was in response to Bhagat’s comments made on September 1 during an event in Dhekni village.
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A video of her speech, in which she allegedly made derogatory remarks about Jesus Christ and conversions, went viral, prompting several individuals to approach the police seeking action.
On September 10, members of the Christian community filed complaints across all police stations in the district, seeking a first information report (FIR) against the MLA.
However, when no action was taken by the deadline of September 25, the Christian Tribal Mahasabha organised the human chain on October 3, demanding the MLA’s arrest.
“There is immense resentment among Christian community due to Bhagat’s remarks. Despite this, the police have not taken any action. We staged a peaceful protest today, but if no action is taken, we will escalate our protest with road blockades,” Kispotta said.
No FIR has been registered against the lawmaker so far.
Replying to media persons over her alleged comments, she said that her speech was to make people aware of what’s happening.
“Christians are engaged in conversation in Jashpur and my speech was to make my people aware about what is going on. She further claimed that before 1905, there were no Christian families in Jashpur, alleging that conversions had been carried out through forgery,” she claimed.