Christian council seeks political reservation

The All India Christian Council (AICC) has demanded political reservation for Christians, to ameliorate the status of the minority Christian community.

The organisation national secretary Sam Paul, speaking to reporters in Vijayawada said Christians should be given representation in every elected body, from panchayats to Parliament.

"We need our share of seats in Legislative Assembly and Parliament, as it is the only way to find solutions to our problems," he said.

Paul said in the wake of the multi–party system gaining ground at the Centre as well as in the State, the votes of Christian community had become crucial for the formation of any government.

"We demand all political parties to allocate seats for Christians keeping our share of population in view," he said.

He further claimed that the actual population of Christians was much higher than the statistics being shown by the Government. According to AICC's recent survey, there were more than 20 million Christians in Andhra Pradesh alone.

In order to strengthen the organisation from the grass roots, it has opened an office for its youth–wing in Machavaram near Vijayawada.

The office will vie to enroll over one lakh members by the end of the year.