Arunachal Christian Forum serves ultimatum to solve church issue

The Arunachal Christian Forum served an ultimatum to the state government on Friday to resolve the Tawang Christian Revival church issue as soon as possible.

The Tawang police has arrested Tawang Revival Church pastor Joseph Singhi during a protest from the Christian community of the state.

The forum submitted memorandum to the Chief Minister’s office on Friday. The Church claimed that the Christian Revival church in Tawang was established in 1999 and a request for land allotment for the church had been made to the chief minister’s office in 2003. The ACF also claimed that the application for land allotment was repeatedly sent by the district administration to the land management secretary but the file was never returned.

“The churches were constructed and functioning for decades without any complaints from any person and association and the government authority while land allotment files are pending,” stated the ACF.

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The ACF state“India is a secular country and the right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the constitution to enable its citizens to freely profess and practice their religious beliefs. Quoting the Supreme Court’s 2009 ban on unauthorized construction of religious structures on public streets, roads and public utility spaces is simply unjustified here”.

The Supreme Court’s direction of 29 September 2009, states that no unauthorized construction shall be permitted in the name of the temple, church, mosque, gurudwara, etc, on public streets, public parks, and other public places. For religious structures constructed prior to 2009, the structure should be within a residential area and the majority of the residents should profess that religion.

The Tawang DA reportedly invoked Section 4 (1) of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupant) Act, 2003.

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