Despite protests by Christian clergy and other organizations, the Karnataka government has managed to get Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s approval. controversial ordinance Prohibition on religious conversion on Tuesday
The Christian community in Karnataka feels that the lack of political representation at every level (from gram panchayat to parliament) has made them vulnerable and they are being forced to seek help from other communities to protect their religious and political interests. Is.
According to the 2011 census data, the Christian population in the state is just 2%.
But some community leaders believe that their population is easily 4%, because new converts do not disclose their religion to avail reservation benefits and other things.
vote bank
Christians Voting mainly for the Congress since independence and the party considers them as its permanent vote bank. However, Christian representation in law and decision-making bodies is declining at an alarming rate.
At present, there is only one Christian MLA in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, KJ George of the Congress. There are no MPs and no MLCs. There is one nominated MLA for Anglo Indians in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, with only two Christian MLAs in the state.
Karnataka is electing four Rajya Sabha members and seven MLCs in June. Congress can send one member to the Rajya Sabha and two to the upper house of the state legislature.
Christian leaders are demanding that they be given at least one seat, as they do not get a ticket to contest directly. One of the two Rajya Sabha seats was held by Oscar Fernandes, who passed away last year.
“The Congress does not give us tickets to contest directly on the ground that we cannot win. They ignore us whenever there are vacancies in indirect elections. At this rate, we will soon be without a single MLA in the state,” said a Christian Congress leader, who did not wish to be identified.
Muslims get benefit
Christians have to fight a two-pronged battle to get something in politics. Some Christian community leaders allege that among the minorities, Muslims are at the top of the population, grabbing most of the things for all minorities. He also feels that Hindu leaders in the Congress prefer themselves keeping in mind the local political situation.
“There is a misconception that minorities mean only Muslims. No one is bothered about other minorities in the state like Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Jews etc. Because of their numerical strength, Muslims occupy most of the political positions. We, Christians, find almost nothing. Be it MLAs, MLCs, MPs, nominations in government boards or corporations, we are always taken lightly,” said another community leader.
“We are in large numbers at least four-five assembly seats in Karnataka. But getting one or two tickets from Congress is also a difficult task. For example, Shantinagar assembly seat in Bengaluru has a high Christian population. But the Congress MLA is a Muslim. We also have a big vote in Shivajinagar assembly and Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seats,” he said.
“Earlier, the church used to take our arguments to the Congress high command. Now they have stopped because they don’t even get the acknowledgment. Church leaders tell us to vote for whomever we want, saying Congress doesn’t have a monopoly on us. Some youth are now looking at parties like the Aam Aadmi Party,” said another Congress leader from the Christian community.
last
Until the early 2000s, Christians had a dominant position in the Karnataka Congress and have held important positions, including state Congress president and union ministers. Oscar Fernandes, a Roman Catholic, was a nine-time MP, KPCC President, the powerful AICC General Secretary and a Union Minister.
Margaret Alva has been a five-time MP, Union Minister and Governor. Before them, Congress had other leaders like Joachim Alva, Violet Alva, Lobo Prabhu, Winifred Fernandes and Blasios D’Souza.
Read also | BJP’s Peninsular Pitch | Party believes in 3S mantra to challenge Dravidian polarity in Tamil Nadu
The late George Fernandes was the only top Christian leader who always opposed the Congress. A Mangalorean Kannadiga, George Fernandes could not win from his home state and won 10 Parliament elections from Maharashtra and Bihar.
His younger brothers, Michael and Lawrence, were active in anti-Congress politics in Karnataka. Michael was a Janata Party MLA and Lawrence was the Mayor of Bengaluru.
Top Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, meanwhile, still maintain that the party will look after the interests of all, including Christians.
read all Breaking News , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.