ASIA/INDIA - Congress Party victory; Bishops ask government to ensure a secular and democratic India, end fundamentalism

Monday, 18 May 2009

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New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – India has opted for stability and continuity: the official results of the elections show a net victory for the ruling Congress Party, versus the opposition led by the right-wing nationalist Baratiya Janata Party (BJP).
The “United Progressive Alliance” (UPA), the coalition formed by the Congress Party and other parties, won 262 of the 541 seats in Parliament, only 10 less than those needed for Parliamentary majority. The BJP won only 116 seats, suffering a bitter defeat for its nationalist and fundamentalist policy.
The Central Committee of the Congress Party will have to confirm in the days to come the nomination of Manmohan Singh as the leader of Parliament and Sonia Gandhi as President of the Party. If this occurs, Manmohan Singh would be in charge of forming the new government.
The Indian Bishops' Conference has issued a statement congratulating all the Indian voters who have confirmed their support for a secular and democratic government in the country. The Bishops said that they trust that Congress and its allies will be faithful to their promises of protecting the country from the forces of communality, which tries to break it apart, and that they can enjoy full confidence with the citizens of religious minority groups, through a stable, secular, and democratic state. The Christians of India, they say, have always supported the political parties that defend the rights of the poor and marginalized.
The Bishops also asked voters to safeguard the pluralist character of the great Indian democracy and the voters have clearly chosen to defend this cultural inheritance, rejecting nationalism, fundamentalism, and discrimination.
The Catholic Church hopes that with the defeat of the movements and parties that favored the hindutva nationalist ideology, these groups may recede from society and new life may be given to those who defend freedom and the rights of all citizens, regardless of their religion, culture, or social group. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/05/2009)