Matters India Reporter
Raipur, August 3, 2025 — On August 2, the Chhattisgarh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sparked outrage by posting a controversial cartoon on its ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) account. The post, which was quickly deleted after a significant backlash, targeted two nuns recently granted bail in a human trafficking case.
The cartoon depicted prominent Congress leaders bowing to two nuns. In a derogatory portrayal, the nuns were shown with a young girl, implying they were involved in human trafficking and forced religious conversion. The post’s timing was particularly inflammatory, as it coincided with the day the nuns—Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis—and a tribal man, Sukaman Mandavi, were released on conditional bail.
The three were arrested on July 25 following a complaint by a Hindu social activist. They were accused of human trafficking and forced religious conversion of three tribal girls. This case had already ignited a major political and religious controversy, especially in the nuns’ home state of Kerala.
The cartoon was widely condemned as a provocative attack not only against the nuns but also the Congress party and the Christian community. Opposition parties and religious groups accused the BJP of fanning religious hatred. The state BJP’s IT cell co-convenor stated the post was removed because “it was not the right subject.”
Internal Party Rift
The incident has highlighted an internal rift within the BJP. While the Chhattisgarh government, led by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, had defended the arrests based on the state’s anti-conversion law, the Kerala BJP unit has taken a conflicting stance.
Kerala BJP leaders, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, openly supported the nuns and assured the Christian community that justice would be served. They had also stated that the Chhattisgarh government would not oppose the nuns’ bail plea. This public divergence underscores the BJP’s balancing act between its Hindutva agenda in certain states and its efforts to gain support from Christian voters in Kerala.
Case Developments
The NIA Special Court in Bilaspur granted bail to the accused, noting that the FIR was based on “mere apprehension and suspicion.” The court also cited affidavits from the parents of the tribal girls, who stated their daughters were not allured or forced into conversion. Additionally, one of the tribal girls has claimed she was coerced by Bajrang Dal activists into giving a false statement, a charge the group denies.
The controversy continues to be a major political talking point, with opposition parties accusing the BJP of “double standards” and “political hypocrisy” in its handling of the case. The central BJP leadership has not issued a unified statement on the cartoon, further exposing the internal divisions on this sensitive issue.