A legislator belonging to the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party ruling Maharashtra state in India, put out a bounty on evangelists who allegedly visit villages for proselytisation.
In a public speech, BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Gopichand Padalkar allegedly put a rate card for killings of different kinds of Christians, the highest amount being for pastors.
Padalkar allegedly made the speech after a 28-year-old woman, who was four months pregnant, died by suicide in Sangli district of Maharashtra because of an alleged demand for dowry from in-laws and pressure to practise Christianity.
The announcement of the cash reward has sparked outrage among the Christian community.
Christian communities in various towns and cities across Maharashtra have held protests demanding that a police case be registered against the MLA for inciting violence and spreading hatred through Padalkar’s speech.
Protesters also demanded that Padalkar be immediately expelled from the Maharashtra Legislative Council, adding that such individuals have no place in a democratic institution that upholds secular values.
In Jalna town, protesters led by prominent Christian leaders submitted a memorandum to the district collector, requesting action against the legislator.
In Nagpur city, a delegation from the Nagpur City United Churches Forum, comprising MLA Vikas Thakre, Father Sanjay Kotchade, Bishop Satish Yangad, Rev Suresh Godbole, and others, submitted a memorandum of various demands to Police Commissioner Ravindra Singal.
The memorandum included a demand to immediately register a First Information Report against Padalkar for placing a bounty on Christians and making unconstitutional statements against the Christian community.
Hate speeches against religious minorities in India, particularly those targeting Christians and Muslims, have become tools in the hands of political leaders since the BJP came to power at the federal level in 2014.
India has recorded at least 947 hate-related incidents between June 2024 and June 2025. Out of this, 345 hate speeches overwhelmingly targeted Muslim and Christian communities. The findings of this alarming data, compiled jointly by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and the Quill Foundation, were released on 27 June.
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