Christians in Kolkata held a peaceful protest against CAA and NRC

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On January 20, Kolkata Christians from different denominations gathered and protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) and rallied under the joint banner of Bengal Christian Council and Bangiya Christiya Pariseba from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road.

The protesters chanted hymns in Bengali and English and held placards that read "No division among people," "We are all children of Jesus" and "No CAA."

A principal from a renowned missionary school said, "We only wanted to drive home the message that all are equal and we should not discriminate between religions and communities."

One of the Christian leader, Father Rodney said, "The CAA is against the very spirit of our Constitution and infringes upon the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India to its citizens irrespective of caste, creed and religion. We express our sincerest solidarity with every citizen and resident in different states of India as we are united in our diversity as one united India."

"We are noticing that some groups are giving open calls to eliminate the religious minorities and convert our democratic, sovereign and secular India into a so-called 'Hindu state'. Minorities feel insecure by such oppressive calls by those fanatic groups," Father Rodney added.

Along with Christian priests, religious leaders from other communities also participated in the protest. All the protesters rallied and asked the Indian government to withdraw CAA, stop NRC and ensure the safety of minorities in the country.