With the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections on their mind, both Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress scion Rahul Gandhi launched an offensive against the Central government after reports alleging that two Kerala nuns were attacked and deboarded from the train in Jhansi by Hindutva goons. However, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has squarely denied any such incident and instead has claimed that Vijayan is ‘lying about the attack’.
In a twist to the alleged attack on two Kerala nuns on a train passing via Uttar Pradesh, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday claimed that there was “no attack” on the two nuns during the train journey. He further alleged that Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan was “lying and making false statements” on the issue.
“There was no attack on any nun whatsoever…the Chief Minister of the state (Kerala) is completely lying and making false statements when he says that,” said Goyal.
He added, “There was an allegation. Some people made a complaint (against the nuns). It is the duty of the police to find out whether the complaint is correct or wrong. Police made enquiries. Checked all their documents, made enquiries (to ensure) that they are genuine passengers going for the correct purpose and then immediately let them go.”
When pressed upon the allegations that the student activists associated with the Sangh Parivar outfit had pulled the nuns out of the train, Goyal replied, “That is absolutely wrong.”
The alleged incident, currently under scrutiny, is that of two nuns belonging to a Kerala-based congregation, who were travelling on a train from Delhi to Rourkela in Odisha with their two postulates on March 19, were allegedly forced to deboard the train in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi after an ABVP worker accused them of forced conversion.
It was being alleged that the two nuns and two postulants were deboarded from the express train and detained for questioning by the railway police in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was quick to shoot off a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he sought his intervention in the matter. Vijayan, in his letter, alleged that the nuns and postulants harassed by Bajrang Dal members and police in Jhansi with Shah replying to the letter where he claimed that strict action will be taken against those involved in the incident.
Rahul Gandhi had also jumped on the bandwagon as he had tweeted about the incident. “The attack in UP on nuns from Kerala is a result of the vicious propaganda run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities,” tweeted the Congress scion.
The dynast added that it was time for the nation to “introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces”.
The attack in UP on nuns from Kerala is a result of the vicious propaganda run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities.
Time for us as a nation to introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 24, 2021
Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement seems to be a twist to the alleged attack on two Kerala nuns on a train passing via Uttar Pradesh. If the incident indeed didn’t happen, then Vijayan and Gandhi must tender an unconditional apology for misleading the masses.