India: Chhattisgarh Hindus decry appointment of Christian as chief secretary

Hindu nationalists have spoken against the appointment of a Christian as the new chief secretary Chhattisgarh state in India.

While the state is ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the newly appointed chief secretary, Parambath Joy Oommen, is a Christian from Kerala state.

Dharma Sena, a Hindu organisation actively involved with an anti-conversion campaign, which has led to violence against Christian missionaries, said that the appointment of a Christian came at the wrong time because of the "rampant religious conversions" taking place in the tribal regions of Chhattisgarh.

Another Hindu organisation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said that it will not take any action over the appointment. Ramesh Modi, VHP state president said, "Religion is not an issue in the bureaucracy and the organisation has never interfered in such matters," reports The Times of India.

Modi stated, however, that conversion should be considered a social problem.