January 2, 2008

BHUBANESWAR, ORISSA -- Steel and Mines minister Padmanabha Behera of Orissa state resigned owning moral responsibility for the communal violence in his home district of Kandhamal, official sources said on December 28.

According to the report on the website http://www.persecution.in/,  the minister Padmanabha Behera, who represents Phulbani area assembly seat in Kandhamal district, met the Chief Minister of his state Orissa Naveen Patnaik, at his residence on Dec 28th evening and tendered his resignation.

“I decided to step down from the minister's post owning full moral responsibility for the violence and disruption of communal harmony in my district,” Minister Padmanabha told the media.

“In the last few days, misinformation and misleading statements in my district were spread through media. In order to remove this public misconception and to restore age-old harmony between Scheduled Castes and Tribes in my district, I decided to tender my resignation,” he said.

The whole commotion took place on Dec. 24, when about 500 Hindu radicals attacked a tent displaying the nativity scene where Christians of various denominations jointly put up in Bamunigham, a small town in Kandhamal district, 335 kilometers southwest of the state capital of Bhubaneswar.

The UCA news site reported that, some of the attackers opened fire at the makeshift tent. They also attacked the Christians with swords and wooden sticks, and destroyed the rented public address system, causing damage estimated at 200,000 rupees (about US$5,000)

On December 25, the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported in their website that 13 churches in total were demolished or razed to the ground and 3 Christians shot dead and several others injured.

The Kui Samaj Sammanwaya Samiti (KSSS, a particular community in the district called Kui community Rights Organization), which had called a two-day strike in Kandhamal from December 25 to 27th when communal violence and arson rocked the district, had been opposing any move to grant tribal status to 'Pana' (Converted) Christians hailing from the tribal dominated district. KSSS leaders also sought the resignation of
Behera.

Claiming that the chief minister was initially reluctant to accept his resignation because of his performance as a minister, Behera said, “I am a victim of a conspiracy hatched by my opposition by political opponents.” Asked if his resignation would reduce tension in Kandhamal, he said “I hope so because people who are against me will stop creating trouble”.

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) welcomed the decision made by the minister.

© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission