VHP fumes as NCM honours Catholic priest working in Kandhamal

New Delhi, July 6: Ignoring the warnings of the Odisha State government and neglecting the opposition voiced by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) the National Minority Commission promoted by UPA Governmnet Friday honoured the Catholic Priest who allegedly played a controversial role in sensitive tribal area of Kanadhamal in Odisha.

The VHP has opposed the National Minority Commission (NCM) move to honor Kandhamal Christian priest Ajay Kumar Singh for his service activities in that tribal-dominated district of Odisha.

The VHP State Secretary Satyendra Mohan in a letter to the NCM authorities took strong exception to the decision of the commission saying that this would invite serious consequences. This was also confirmed by the State Government, the letter pointed.

It may be recalled that the NCM has announced that they would honor Father Ajay Kumar Singh, a Catholic priest active in Kandhamal district of Odisha by conferring upon him the ‘Minority Rights Day Award’ ignoring the Odisha government’s warning that such a step would disturb the communal harmony in the area.

Ignoring the protest and opposition by the VHP and warnings of the State Government, the UPA Government on July 5, conferred the award on Father Ajay Kumar Singh at a function at New Delhi.

The Catholic Priest was given the 'minority rights award' for his campaign against the 2002 Kandhamal riots in Odisha amid a controversy over his selection. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs. two lakh, which is a new component introduced in the award from this year.
Singh was honoured for his work for the victims of Kandhamal violence in 2007-08. Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan, who was supposed to give away the award, could not attend the function with official sources maintaining that he was ill.

The award winning priest said that Odisha government had "appreciated" the award given to him and he was not aware if it had expressed any opposition.

A Replying to felicitation the priest said that the victims of Kandhamal violence were still awaiting rehabilitation. "Most of the accused in 30 out 32 murders cases have been acquitted. So there is a feeling that justice is not being done to the victims. This award is recognition of their struggle and the fact that they cannot be subjugated," he said.

The NCM chairperson Wajahat Habibullah said the annual event, which was not held last year, would go a long way in "mainstreaming the concerns of minorities".

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee, giving away the award, called for setting up a parliamentary committee for minorities as their rights continue to be "violated" despite constitutional guarantee for it.

"A large number of violations of their (minorities) rights are reported" and it was high time a parliamentary committee for them was constituted on the line of the Committee for the Welfare of SC & STs, Chatterjee said.

He also felt that the long-pending demand for an equal opportunity committee also needed to be looked into before any delay.

The VHP had voiced its serious and strong opposition to this step of the minority body on the ground that the Christian Father was involved in large scale conversions of innocent tribals in that area.

VHP State Secretary Satyendra Mohan in his letter pointed that  the person to whom the award is being conferred is involved in large scale conversions, working against the tribes since a long time and is main conspirator behind brutal murder of Saint swami Laxmananand Saraswati in Kandhmal in the year 2008.

The VHP warned that it would organize protest demonstrations if the NCM went ahead with its plan.

Releasing a copy of the letter to media, Vinod Bansal, Media In charge VHP Delhi said “We have requested the commission to stop this award which is an insult to the tribal community in particular and the Hindu society in general”.
It may be noted that following the NCM’s request for a background check on Singh, Kandhamal District Collector B S Poonia, in a report sent last month, said: “A confidential inquiry conducted by the DSP, DIB, Kandhamal, and forwarded by SP, Kandhamal indicates that it is not advisable to consider the case of Ajay Kumar Singh…for the Minority Rights Day Award as it may have an adverse impact on the peace and communal harmony in the ethno-communal hyper-sensitive district of Kandhamal.” 

“We will protest peacefully if the commission refused to listen the voice of the tribes and Hindu society,” said Gurdeen Prasad Rustagi, the Vice-President VHP Delhi.