A delegation led by Bishop of Ujjain called on Governor Anandiben Patel who was in the town for a scheduled visit (Express Photo/Bhupendra Rana/File)
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of the Catholic Church in India, Thursday expressed concern over an alleged attack on a hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain earlier this week and said that governments cannot afford to allow mobs to take the law into their hands.
A delegation of Bishops visited the Pushpa Mission Hospital in Ujjain and urged the state and central government to “immediately bring to task the culprits and to ensure that the rule of law prevails.”
A statement issued by the CBCI Thursday said, “Neither the State of Madhya Pradesh nor the Union Government can afford to allow mobs to take the law into their own hands. The use of political muscle and arrogant display of violent might is nothing but goondaism, terrorism and anti-nationalism.”
The statement said, “We condemn the acts of violence, terror, intimidation and forceful trespass, as these actions pose a threat to the well being and future of our beloved nation. We pray that good sense may prevail and that all of us may continue to live freely and without fear in our country according to the law…”
The hospital in Ujjain was allegedly attacked Monday by a group of local residents led by BJP activists following a dispute over a piece of land, which both sides claim belongs to them. The CBCI statement claimed that the Church had unchallenged ownership of the land on which the Hospital is built since 1961.
“Forces aided by powerful political powers have been at play to dispute and demand ownership of the land. The ownership of a part of the land has been suddenly challenged and is since then sub judice and we await the judgment of the Court. Some anti-social and anti-national elements have been creating disturbances in the area,” the statement said.