New Delhi: Close on the heels of a major row triggered by the remarks by Kerala-based Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt, the BJP on Sunday (September 12) said such intervention is not just a wake-up call for his dioceses; it is the voice of the community who are victims.
"The intervention by Bishop, Joseph Kallarangatt of Pala, Kerala during sacred worship is not just a wake up call for his dioceses, it is the voice of the community who are victims of love Jihad and the fallout of Narco terrorism.The cases of love jihad and drug abuse victims are ramping up," BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said in a statement.
The Kerala Bishop Council believes that terrorism and rampant flow of drugs into the state, both interconnected, is a menace to the country, and the Kerala government hasn't taken cognizance of the fact despite inputs from various investigative agencies, he said.
The Bishop council has raised the following "inputs from devotees of different churches and dioceses" and raised complaints.
"Young girls are lured and fall a prey for love jihad and are later ending up in foreign jails. This has to be accounted as human trafficking. The rising drug abuse in different communities has affected peace within families and has created socio-economic disorder of disastrous levels," said Mr Vadakkan, also a Christian from the southern state.
He further said: "The intellectual and academic strengths of the young generation is destroyed through Narco terrorism or Narco Jihad. The peace within families and communities are destroyed by drug abuse. This aspect is a threat to national security and poses serious threat and implications to the dream of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat."
The complaint raised by bishops reflects data from dioceses, churches, academic institutions, hospitals and various de-addiction centres run by the Church itself, he said.
"These are not mere allegations against any community in particular but these antisocial elements pose a threat to national security and would destroy the young generation whom we endow the future of India."
He appealed to the central government to bring central legislation to book such elements and bring in fast track courts to deal with Narcoterrorism and love Jihad.
A day after Kerala's catholic church bishop's remarks that Christian girls were largely falling prey to "love and narcotic jihad" in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that those in responsible positions should be cautious not to make a religious division in society.
"Pala Bishop is influential and a religious scholar. We're hearing the term 'narcotic jihad' for the first time. Problem of narcotics doesn't affect a particular religion alone, it affects society as a whole," the Chief Minister said.
The Bishop, Kallarangatt, had also said: "As Jihadis know that it is not easy to destroy people belonging to other religions using weapons in a democratic country like ours, they attempt other such means to achieve their target."
