SHILLONG: The North East India Christian Council has moved Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, over the recent remarks made by BJP MP, Satya Pal Singh, on slain missionary and leprosy worker, Dr Graham Stuart Staines, during the monsoon session of the Parliament.
“We would like to state that the disparaging remark against Graham Staines, accusing him of forced conversion and sexual molestation of 30 adivasi girls while discussing the proposed amendments is not only out of context but it is more of an attempt to baselessly malign Christianity and Christians in India,” the Council said in a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker.
The BJP MP had recently said that there is a government and intelligence report that shows how insurgency increased in the North East with money under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
“We know what happened in the North East, how things changed there in the last 50 years and a particular religion rose. There is a government and intelligence report that shows how insurgency increased there with money under FCRA,” Singh had said.
With regard to this claim, the Council said, “We would like to state that the comment against churches and Christian organisations in North East being involved in misusing foreign funds channeled through FCRA to support insurgency is misleading and unfounded as churches and Christian organisations have been agents of social transformation through education and social service for more than one and a half century, and has no connection with insurgency in North East India”.
The Council has also urged the Speaker to ensure that members of the house refrain making “such hate speech and irresponsible comments, which will distance people of North East from people of the mainland India”.