Church funded, fuelled militancy in India, says former CPI-M MP

A senior CPI-M leader and former Member of Parliament of India has said the church has been used by various external agencies for the pumping in of funds for organizing militancy and separatist movements in Tripura.

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Khagen Das was speaking with reference to the militant activities and the ongoing demand for a separate tribal land within Tripura by a newly float tribal party Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT).

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"During the communal riots of 1980 and during the extremist activities for 30 years, it is on record that apart of church, they were involved. Money was being in flown to India by church to extremist," said Das.

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Das said that a section of the church has been actively supporting and fuelling tribal insurgency in not only the state but also the region.

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However, he denied mentioning any specifically name or details about what step his government had taken against that section of the church but in support of his statement he said that from the declaration made in the court by Kim Davy, who is wanted in the famous arms dropping case in Puralia of West Bengal it is clear that church has been used for funding and arms support to militants especially in Northeast India.

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Das added, "The man (Kim Davy, Peter Bleach and his team) who dropped arms in West Bengal's Puralia, was in the dock in his country and making a statement that I was not only dropping arms in Puralia, in 1995 and 1996 I had supplied arms to the northeast extremist particularly to Tripura extremist."

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He thanked the people of Tripura for not supporting such militant activities and brings the Left Front in power in various elections including the just concluded civic poll.

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According to his the landslide victory of the Left Front is a message to the BJP government in Delhi that Tripura is showing a new path for the nation.