E-Paper
Moga: Construction of church raises hackles of villagers
Claims it may ‘disturb religious harmony’; Moga’s Ghal Kalan village has no Christian population, says the resolution passed by its panchayat
Moga’s Ghal Kalan panchayat has asked the district administration to stop the construction of a church on the village land, claiming that it may ‘disturb the religious harmony’.
Jalandhar-based pastor Ankur Narula had planned a ‘grand opening’ of the ‘Moga Church Branch’ at Ghal Kalan on December 18.
The Ghal Kalan panchayat in a resolution said during a meeting headed by sarpanch Gurpratap Singh, a discussion was held on the ongoing construction of the church on village land near the national highway.
“Ghal Kalan village has no Christian population. The district administration should stop the construction of the church, which may disturb the religious harmony, observing the present circumstances,” it reads.
Sarpanch Gurpratap Singh said, “It came to our notice that construction of a permanent structure of the church has been started in the village. The land was bought by a property dealer, who does not belong to the village, for developing a colony. There is no one from the Christian community in our village, so we have written to the district administration to get the construction work stopped.”
“There are recent incidents of clashes between religious groups and we don’t want our village to be part of this tussle,” he added.
While the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is running an ‘anti-conversion drive’ in Punjab, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has alleged that forced conversions into Christianity are going on. Recently, tension had started brewing between Christian and Sikh groups after remarks of ‘Waris Punjab De’ head Amritpal Singh.
Moga senior superintendent of police Gulneet Khurana said the owner has claimed that the land was given on lease to a Christian organisation for a temporary programme, not to raise any permanent structure. “We have called all the parties to get clarity on the issue and get it resolved,” he added.
An organiser of the event, Samuel, said they had a lease agreement with the land owner for 11 months. “We are not going to construct a permanent structure. It is a temporary arrangement for an event,” he added.
