Activists, including members of the Christian community, decried Church leaders and eminent Christians for attending a Christmas lunch hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Veteran journalist John Dayal said at the Press Club on Thursday that most relief camps in riot-torn Manipur are run by churches and not the state’s BJP government, at a time when Christian NGOs are being denied the use of foreign donations by the Centre.

“The PM could have given an assurance of safety…. They (Church leaders) should have raised what wrong is happening under his government,” he said.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, bishops of several Christian denominations, international long-jump medallist Anju Bobby George, actor Dino Morea, St. Stephen’s College principal John Varghese, Christian captains of industry, and a representative of the Vatican embassy attended the lunch. Many of them praised the work of the Modi government.

University professor Apoorvanand said: “When this (party) was happening, news came in of a church being attacked in Tripura…. An RSS-backed mass organisation is conducting an agitation to delist Christian tribals from the list of Scheduled Tribes.”

He added: “To put a curtain over this, to reduce the seriousness of these incidents, to say that this government’s policies have benefited Christians — it is shameful and painful to see religious leaders doing this.”

“Christians have a tradition to speak against injustice,” Apoorvanand added. “The Pope in his Christmas message spoke against Israel, and to protect humanity….”

Activist Shabnam Hashmi said: “We are in a fight for the soul of India, to save democracy and secularism, at a time of a fascist onslaught. Under the circumstances, instead of raising their voice against atrocities, on the attack on democracy in India, we have religious leaders cosying up to the PM….”