India’s Catholic bishops issued a strong condemnation of law enforcement for not prosecuting a state legislator who publicly offered up to $12,663 USD (1.1 million rupees) as a reward for violent attacks targeting Christian leaders.
Following Maharashtra MLA Gopichand Padalkar’s incitement to violence and the police’s lack of response, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) voiced “deep anguish and alarm over the escalating hostility and violence targeting minority communities in the country,” highlighting the seriousness of the situation. Padalkar is affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a press statement issued on Monday, the bishops referenced Padalkar’s June 17 speech in Sangli District, Maharashtra state. In his remarks.
Padalkar said, “We should keep prizes for those who bash up missionaries coming to convert people. Rs 5 lakh (500,000 rupees or $5,756 USD), should be declared for the first person thrashing such a missionary, the second one to be given Rs 4 lakh (400,000 rupees or $4,605 USD), while the third one to be given Rs 3 lakh (300,000 rupees or $3,454 USD) as prizes.”
He also offered 11 lakhs (1.1 million rupees or $12,663 USD) for violence against Christian leaders, the bishops noted.
The bishops said the speech constitutes “a clear instance of incitement to religiously motivated violence, amounting to a grave offense under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which penalizes acts that promote enmity between different groups and threaten the unity and integrity of the nation.”
Padalkar made the controversial statements during a torch march in Sangli’s Kupwad area on June 17, targeting Christian priests and pastors whom he accused of forced religious conversions. The remarks came after a 28-year-old pregnant woman, Rutuja Rajage, died by suicide in Sangli District, with the legislator blaming her death on alleged pressure from in-laws to convert to Christianity, though he provided no evidence for such claims.
The legislator called those involved in “Love Jihad” (in reference to Muslims) as “green snakes” and those “forcing Christianity on others” as “pythons,” stating: “We need to run ‘JCB’ on such pythons,” referring to using heavy construction machinery to crush them.
Padalkar also threatened what he called unauthorized prayer houses, demanding that local officials “declare a list of all unauthorized prayer houses in Sangli District, as soon as possible and on the third day, such prayer houses should be demolished.”
Padalkar’s announcement triggered widespread demonstrations across Maharashtra. On July 11, thousands of Christians from various denominations gathered in the capital city Mumbai’s Azad Maidan for protest organized by the Sakal Christi Samaj and supported by more than 20 Christian organizations.
On July 8, protests broke out in Pune, where members of the Pune Christian Forum organized demonstrations outside the District Collector’s Office. In Jalna district, Christians also held a march on June 30, with protesters carrying placards and urging authorities to file criminal charges against the legislator.
Religious rights advocates point to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, which they say has emboldened Hindu extremists across India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014.
