The inauguration program of a church in the name of building a prayer house for the tribal community in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh had to be cancelled after the protest by Hindu organisations. Furthermore, Christian conversion in the Raigarh area of the state also led to agitation where allegations of attempting to convert women under the pretext of prayer meetings were made.
According to media reports, people gathered in the tribal-dominated village of Banglabhata in Ratanpur, Bilaspur on 5th November at around 11:30 am under the guise of the inauguration of a prayer house. Women and children were also among them. Congress leader and MLA Atal Srivastava was present there as the chief guest along with Sushma Kumar of Bishop Diocese of Chhattisgarh and other public representatives.
Hindu organizations also arrived at the location after learning about the event and recited Hanuman Chalisa in protest. The program had to be cancelled by the organisers because of the chaos. The Congress leader has been charged by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prabal Pratap Singh Judev of encouraging religious conversions. He was leading the demonstrating Hindu groups. They accused that government land was allotted for a community hall but a prayer hall has been built on it, per other reports.
Judev charged that Congress MLAs are determined to convert the region devoted to Goddess Mahamai into a site for religious conversions under the pretext of prayer meetings. He also accused the administration of ignoring the conspiracy to convert the tribal community.
सनातनी शेर प्रबल प्रताप सिंह जूदेव ने रतनपुर से धर्मांतरण के विरुद्ध फूंका बिगुल,
— Sudarshan छत्तीसगढ़ (@SudarshanNewsCG) November 6, 2024
कहा-‘मां महामाई की नगरी रतनपुर को धर्मांतरण की नगरी नहीं बनने दूंगा’#StopConversion pic.twitter.com/3hEwLl8joX
A video of the agitation is going viral on social media. The authorities rushed to the scene as soon as they received the information about the instance and tried to pacify the protesting Hindus by talking to them and bring the situation under control.
On the other hand, regarding the controversy surrounding religious conversion in Raigarh, Anshu Tuteja, an ABVP official and leader of a Hindu organisation revealed, “We have been receiving reports for several months that religious conversions are taking place here under the guise of prayer meetings. We were constantly scouting the place based on the information. Meanwhile, we learned this morning (on 3rd November) that religious conversions are underway at a person named Santosh Chauhan’s home in Mitthumuda and a large number of women were present there.”
His team reached there and heard a loud voice telling people about the might of Jesus Christ and insulting Hindu deities claiming that they have no power. People were urged to surrender to Jesus Christ to get rid of their sorrows and pain. Tuteja added that the police were informed about the development and the women alleged that there were only 4 persons but 15 to 20 women were seen praying when they entered inside. “A lot of material has been recovered from there. We want strict action against whoever converts people,” he demanded.
Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Markam mentioned that the Mitthumuda police team reached the site for investigation and legal action will be taken afterwards. He also confirmed that 10 to 15 people were present inside the room. Meanwhile, Congress District President Anil Shukla alleged that incidents such as religious conversion have escalated since the saffron party took power in the state.
