Protestant and Catholic organizations in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday observed a prayer-and-solidarity day in protest against the ordinance.
The All-India Council of Churches condemned the ordinance and demanded that the Tamil Nadu government withdraw it immediately. It said the legislation was meant to “harass minorities and appease the Sangh Parivar,” the national Hindu movement.
The ordinance is an infringement of the fundamental rights of an individual enshrined in the Indian Constitution, the council added in a statement.
Meanwhile, Christian organizations in Coimbatore also organized a mass prayer meeting in a church and appealed to the state government to repeal the ordinance banning religious conversions.
Bishop Thomas Aquinas of Coimbatore and Church of South India Bishop M. Dorai led the prayer in which some 4,000 people participated, reports said. The protest lasted nearly four hours, according to the state police.
