ICC Note: A Hindu radical leader, Om Swami Maharaj, led a group of nationalists in a rally against Christians in India. During the rally, held near the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi, Maharaj accused Christians of promoting terrorism and demanded they leave India or be forcefully expelled. A video of the rally, which includes Maharaj stomping on an image of Pope Francis, has circulated on social media leading to calls for Maharaj to be comforted by authorities.
06/01/2018 India (World Watch Monitor) – A controversial Hindu leader has called for Christians to leave India in a video that shows a group stomping on images of Pope Francis.
The video, posted on 26 May, shows Om Swami Maharaj and a group of around 20 people carrying placards and banners with pictures of Pope Francis, near the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi, reported Catholic news site UCAN.
In the video, the Hindu leader accuses Indian Christians of promoting terrorism and Maoism and demands that they leave India. He adds that if they do not do so voluntarily, they will be expelled.
Christian groups in India have reported the video to police, asking them to stop its circulation.
Jaideep Prasad, inspector general of police in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh state, told UCAN that his officers would “not allow anyone to spread discord among people with such videos”, but the video has not yet been taken down.
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