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A delegation of Church leaders met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 12, a month after he was elected to power for the third consecutive term, and expressed concerns about the increasing hostility Christians face in the country.Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, led the four-member delegation along with federal minister Suresh Gopi, a parliamentarian elected from southern Kerala state and a member of Modi’s Bhartiya Janata Party.
The 45-minute meeting at the prime minister’s office “was cordial, and the prime minister gave us a good hearing,” Thazhath told the media at the bishops’ conference office in New Delhi.
The delegation submitted a memorandum expressing anxiety over the increasing attacks on Christians, the false allegations of forced conversions, and the misuse of anti-conversion laws, Thazhath said.
The leaders wanted Modi’s intervention to stop the atrocities on minorities and harassment of Christians.
The memorandum also sought for Christians of Dalit origin the special benefits meant for socially poor Dalit people. These concessions are denied to them on the ground that Christianity does not follow the caste system.
The memorandum said Dalit Christians face double discrimination as society discriminates them as lower caste, and the government excludes them from welfare measures. The Church delegation wanted governmental steps to extend reservation benefits to Dalit Christians.
This story was originally published in ucanews.com. Read the full story here.