Day after Delhi Archbishop's letter, Catholic Bishops Conference head meets Rajnath Singh

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) president Cardinal Oswald Gracias on Thursday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss issues concerning the Christian community in the country.

The meeting between Singh and Gracias, who recently took over as the president of the CBCI, was termed a “courtesy call” by the home ministry.

However, sources said that the meeting came in wake of Gracias’ reported comments that there was a “growing anxiety” among minority communities “because the government was not acting enough” to protect them.

He had also said that there have been “more attempts” to polarise society in the last four years. The Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power four years ago in 2014.

The meeting also came days after Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto’s call for a “prayer campaign” ahead of the 2019 general elections over the “turbulent political atmosphere” in the country.

The move to invoke the Christians irked the ruling BJP, which termed the Delhi Archbishop’s circular  “politically motivated” and asked him to refrain from “instigating” castes and communities.

Reacting to Couto’s comment, the home minister had said that India does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion or sect, and such things will never be allowed in the country.

(With inputs from agencies)