Kolkata: Spreading the message of communal harmony, thousands of members from the Bengal Christian Council are set to walk in a peace rally from St Paul's Cathedral to the Mayo Road crossing near the Gandhi statue on Tuesday. Ahead of the rally, Most Revd Paritosh Canning, moderator of the Church of North India, Bishop of Calcutta (CNI) and president of the council, made an appeal to both the state and Centre for the restoration of peace, as churches and missionary institutions came under attack in the recent past.
"We saw two pictures. On Dec 25, I was present in Delhi Cathedral where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present and he prayed. We prayed for him as well. On the other side, we see that the churches are being attacked. Both these pictures are very painful for us," said Canning.
"The PM's visit to the church and prayer can bring a new message in India; maybe he thinks that everyone should stay together. We decided to give a memorandum within two days after the rally to the prime minister through our governor. We will request him to take a step, as minorities are under attack. We are expecting around 15,000 participants in the rally tomorrow," Canning told reporters at Bishop's House on Monday.
He also thanked CM Mamata Banerjee for "upholding the centuries-old ethos and traditions of Bengal in the true spirit of unity in diversity" and "providing minority status for schools/staff appointment rules".
"We will try to encourage Christians of other states through the Bengal Christian Council so that they can also come forward and join hands wherever it is needed, in places where the churches are being destroyed and Christians are attacked. Though in Bengal we live in peace and we do not face such problems, our brothers and sisters in other states are in such pain. We are planning to stand beside them through the Bengal Christian Council," he said.
Canning also pointed out that Christian-run schools across the state faced administrative issues affecting the studies of several children belonging to underprivileged backgrounds. "We want a peaceful environment for work and cooperation from the DI office, Kolkata, to run our institutions smoothly," he said.