If Priya Rajan has converted to Christianity and took the membership of the ECI, she is legally not eligible to get the benefit of the SC status as the government reserved the mayor post for an SC woman candidate.
Priya Rajan (28), a Dalit woman, has sworn in on March 4 as the 49th mayor of the Greater Chennai Corporation, formed in 1668 by the British rulers. In Tamil Nadu, half the heads of city corporations and town municipalities are reserved for women and other marginalized sections of society.
After assuming charge, Priya, hailing from a DMK family, met Bishop Ezra Sargunam of Evangelical Church of India (ECI), infamous for his virulent anti-Hindu statements and proclivity for church planting.
Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA), a news agency for Catholics, carried news on March 7, in which it claimed she is said to be a member of the ECI. The news outlet's Twitter handle had also tweeted the article with the headline 'Dalit Christian woman is the youngest mayor of India's Chennai city.' It claimed that Priya is a Christian and a member of the ECI. The UCA's Twitter handle had also tweeted the article with the caption that Priya Rajan is a 'Dalit Christian'. After questions were raised, it changed the caption on March 8, omitting the word 'Christian' in its news site. After her win, several social media posts have also added weight to the claims of her being a Christian.
A Twitter account with the name Indu Makkal Katchi wrote (@Indumakalktchi), "*Mayor of Chennai* is a member of *Ottery ECI Church*. She Went to visit *Bishop Ezra* to receive his blessings Now, any doubt on Gopalapuram connection – Crypto. This is total injustice to Dalit community."
Vlogger Karthick Gopinath tweeted, "Chennai Mayor Priya seeks blessings from the rabidly anti -indu missionary yesra sargunam. For folks who are unaware, this is the guy who said he is irritated just to hear the word Hindu and would want to punch the face if anyone uttered the word Hindu."
An investigation carried out by an English daily found that the same report was published in another website, 'South Asian Journal'. The report has quoted Father Vincent Chinnadurai, former spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, but the affidavit submitted by Priya during the recent urban local body election says she belongs to the Scheduled Community. If she has converted to Christianity and took the membership of the ECI, she is legally not eligible to get the benefit of the SC status as the government reserved the mayor post for an SC woman candidate.
The Kerala high court in July 2010 had disqualified AICC secretary Kodikunnil Suresh from membership of the Lok Sabha for producing a fake caste certificate. In June 2013, the Madras high court had ruled that a person professing a particular religion and belonging to a backward or most backward or scheduled caste community will lose the community status on converting to another religion.
SC-ST Rights Forum has written to TN Chief Secretary to order an inquiry by the District Level Scrutiny Committee and take necessary action. It said, "Priya Rajan is misusing the reservation and constitutional benefits meant for the welfare of the people of weaker sections of this society." The Forum has also urged National Commission for Scheduled Caste to take action against her. It is very difficult to prove whether she has converted as many crypto Christians with Hindu names are enjoying reservation benefits.
