His Excellency Archbishop Thomas Macwan of Gandhinagar has been asked to explain why his letter seeking prayer for election should not be viewed as a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Gujarat Election Commission served a notice to His Grace Archbishop Macwan and asked him to give explanations for his letter issued asking all Catholics to pray to elect leaders who will “remain faithful to the Indian Constitution” so that the country can be “saved of nationalist forces.”
As reported by ucanindia.in, His Excellency Archbishop Macwan remarked that “The letter has only been sent to the Christian community to pray and we can always pray for good humans to be elected as leaders.” Further, His Grace Archbishop added, “It has not been issued with any malicious intention to harm anyone.”
Officials said the action was taken on a complaint received by the Election Commission of India from an organization, Legal Rights Observatory. The complaint sought immediate action against the Archbishop, as they felt, his public letter dated November 21, 2017, was an attempt to generate fear among voters to divide people on the basis of caste and creed.
