Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 30 (ANI): Kerala Congress on Wednesday held a protest in Thiruvananthapuram against the arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh over charges of human trafficking and religious conversion.

Kerala Congress workers took to the streets in protest against the arrest of the two Kerala-based catholic nuns.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat visited the Durg Central Jail in Chhattisgarh where two Kerala-based nuns are currently lodged.

Karat, who was joined by CPI leaders Annie Raja and other members of a party delegation, met the nuns and later condemned the arrests as unjust, calling them part of a 'targeted attack' on the Christian community in the state.

Speaking to ANI, Karat said, 'Two nuns who have been serving the poor here for years were jailed today on the basis of a fake allegation and a manufactured lie. A tribal boy who had no fault was also beaten up and jailed today. What kind of law is this that people of Bajrang Dal or any RSS outfit beat those girls and a boy like this in front of the police and law enforcement agencies?'

'They are doing all this under the protection of the government. This is a targeted attack on the Christian community,' Karat added.

Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrashekhar said that the party's state unit has reached out to the Chhattisgarh government over the arrest of the two nuns in Durg, clarifying that there has been 'no issue of trafficking or conversion.'

Speaking with ANI, Rajeev Chandrashekhar said, 'We have immediately reached out to the government of Chhattisgarh and clarified that these are nuns who were accompanying three adult women with the consent of their families for jobs and therefore, there was no issue of trafficking nor was there an issue of any conversion.'

Opposition has targeted BJP after the arrest, accusing it of targeting Christian minorities and suppressing legitimate rights.

On July 27, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) strongly condemned the alleged incident, claiming that, according to reports, the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after being arrested. (ANI)