CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council on Thursday announced that they supported the protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) morally. Addressing journalists, Council treasurer and Bishop of Tuticorin, Dr Yvon Ambroise, said that he had to sympathise with the people.“You cannot say I am inciting it. We are unable to understand why the government is implicating me personally and the Diocese as if we are the principal instigators. All religions are involved in it.We don’t understand why only the Christian community should be targeted. It is a clear misconception of the government. We do not support any NGO but the people in our locality,” he observed.“It is a protest led by the people, for the people beyond religious lines and the issue is not just power generation on the whole,” he added. Dr AM Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore and president of TN Bishops’ Council said, “The Centre is painting an impression that the Church is against national interest, playing into the hands of foreign powers by simply stating that the ‘Tuticorin Diocesan Association’ has diverted foreign funds without clearly stating who the funds are diverted to. We request the Prime Minister to stop harassing the Christian minority and withdraw negative injunctions issued in lieu of Tuticorin Diocese and grant appropriate relief,” the Archbishop said. He also requested Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to intervene in the matter.Asked whether they would seek diplomatic intervention from Vatican City, the Council said that it had been keeping the high-command posted and that it preferred to face the matter legally at this juncture.
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