|
NEW
DELHI: India's Catholic Christians are happy over
increased representation of the community in the new
government, with four of them being inducted into the
union council of ministers, says a report from IndoAsian
News Service.
A.K. Antony is defence minister while K.V. Thomas,
Agatha Sangma and Vincent Pala are ministers of state.
The previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government had three Christian ministers.
“It shows the cultural and religious diversity of India,
which has been the hallmark of our history and
tradition,” said Rev Babu Joseph, spokesman, Catholic
Bishop's Conference of India (CBCI).
“All four of them are Catholics,” he said.
However, Antony, former Kerala chief minister and a
Rajya Sabha MP, is a known atheist and declined to take
oath of office in the name of god during the swearing in
ceremony of the Manmohan Singh cabinet last week.
Catholic Christians make up 1.8 percent of the country's
population, while the total Christian population is 2.5
percent.
While Antony and Thomas are from Kerala, Sangma and Pala
belong to the northeastern state of Meghalaya.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader P.A. Sangma's
daughter Agatha, 28, is the youngest minister in the
council of ministers. She represents Tura constituency
in Meghalaya. Congress leader Vincent Pala, 41, is a
first time MP. He represents Shillong constituency. K.V.
Thomas, 63, is a former Kerala minister. Thomas won the
Lok Sabha elections from Ernakulam constituency.
The CBCI also said the inclusion of more Christian
ministers in the council of ministers was a move towards
an inclusive approach in the Indian polity.
Antony, Oscar Fernandez and P.R. Kyndia were the three
Christians in the previous government.
However, the representation of Muslims in the new
council of ministers has come down from six in the
previous government to five two of whom are cabinet
ministers and three are ministers of state. Muslims
constitute 14 percent of India's population.
|
