Orissa: Coalition govt crumbles amid growing violence on Christians

The coalition government in the hot spot state Orissa state crumbled as the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party snapped ties with its saffron ally of 11 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The state from recently have been witnessing growing communal violence, mostly targeting the Christian community. This has been part of the government's downfall, says sources.

The CPM and CPI, with one seat each in the state, have decided to extend support to the BJD government, which has 61 MLA's of the 74 required in the 147-member State Assembly.

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said, "It is a good development. After the Kandhamal attack on Christians, our leaders met Navin Patnaik and told him that it is untenable for him to continue with the BJP."

After the Kandhamal violence the BJD must have gone through a difficult stage of working with the BJP and its communal politics, leading to the parting of ways, he added.

Violence was sparked in the state following the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008. Accusing Christians of executing the murder, thousands of Hindu radicals went on rampage, murdering Christians, vandalising churches and burning houses. Apparently, 54,000 Christians had to flee during the mayhem.

The Christian Legal Association of India says, over 1,800 complaints about crimes including arson, assault, and murder were collected in the last three months. Lawyers made at least 800 of these into First Information Reports (FIRs), which are filed with police.

The opposition Congress accusing the government said, the coalition failed due to the violence that left people insecure in the state.

"Patnaik government failed to provide security and protection to people during Kandhamal violence," senior Congress leader Srikant Jena said in an election meeting at Raikia.

As the state is gearing up for the Assembly elections scheduled on April 16 and 23, Christians hope that the new government would be more secular minded, working for the peace and unity of the communities.