NEW DELHI, 8 Feb: Congress member K Suresh on Thursday asked the government to come out with a white paper on the ethnic violence in Manipur, and said that Christian missionaries and priests are facing threats, with churches being vandalised in some states.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Suresh alleged that repeated vandalisation of churches in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and continued assault on Christian missionaries and priests by the right-wing group is alarming.
He alleged that, by refusing to take action against the goons, the BJP is supporting those who are indulging in violence.
“The arrest of Father Anil Mathew, who was wrongly implicated and jailed, shows hatred against Christian missionaries and priests by the Madhya Pradesh government. I request the Madhya Pradesh government to seek report in this matter and the human rights commission to take up the matter suo motu,” Suresh said.
He demanded also that the central government should place a white paper on the Manipur situation and ethnic violence in the House.
Amar Singh of the Congress demanded increase in the number of work days under MGNREGA, and also the remuneration paid to the workers. He also demanded waiver of farm loans by the central government.
Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur intervened to say that the Modi government has already undertaken several pro-farmer measures, including hiking MSP on agriculture products, doubling procurement and launching PM Kisan Yojana.
TR Baalu (DMK) said that Tamil Nadu did not get any fund from the Centre despite a meeting between Chief Minister MK Stalin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The central government is giving the “least importance” to the needs of the people of Tamil Nadu, he said.
Tamil Nadu has been demanding central assistance to deal with the impact of flood in the state in December, 2023.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey demanded implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Jharkhand to stop migration of Bangladeshi Muslims. (PTI)