A Hindu nationalist legislator from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra has drawn national and international condemnation after allegedly placing a bounty on Christian evangelists. Gopichand Padalkar, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), reportedly announced a "rate card" for the killing of different categories of Christians during a public speech—offering the highest reward for pastors. His remarks came in the wake of the tragic suicide of a 28-year-old pregnant woman in Sangli district, allegedly due to dowry-related abuse and pressure from her in-laws over religious conversion. The inflammatory speech has ignited outrage among Christian communities throughout Maharashtra, who are demanding accountability and legal action for what they say is a blatant incitement to violence.

In response, Christian leaders and activists have staged protests in multiple cities, calling for Padalkar’s expulsion from the Maharashtra Legislative Council and the immediate registration of a criminal case against him. In Jalna, protestors submitted a formal memorandum to the district collector, while in Nagpur, a delegation of church leaders and an opposition MLA met with the city’s Police Commissioner to demand a First Information Report (FIR) against Padalkar for hate speech. These events come amid a broader rise in religiously motivated hostility under the BJP's national rule since 2014. A recent joint report by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and the Quill Foundation revealed that from June 2024 to June 2025, India witnessed 947 hate-related incidents, with 345 specifically involving hate speech—most of which targeted Christian and Muslim communities.

Stay Awake. Keep Watch.

SOURCE: International Christian Concern