Christain pastors in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have reportedly said that they do not want honorariums from the Government of Andhra Pradesh due to fear of losing their Schedule Caste status.
"We Don't Want Your Honorarium": AP Pastors are refusing to apply for the Honorarium by the Government of Andhra Pradesh due to fear of losing SC reservations. https://t.co/frgwgTX1hM pic.twitter.com/uUug5jn7td
— Legal Rights Protection Forum (@lawinforce) March 31, 2022
Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), an legal activism group had raised this issue, wherein they exposed that those who had converted to Christianity are still holding on to their SC certificates to avail all the benefits.
LRPF's Effect:
— Legal Rights Protection Forum (@lawinforce) March 28, 2022
No. of beneficiary Pastors applied for AP Govt Honorarium is reduced to 650 even after relaxing rules.
Earlier, we exposed that 60% Pastors out of 29,841 who received Rs.5K during the 1st lockdown are holding SC Caste Certificates. Link👇https://t.co/n3fIHWj8Uh pic.twitter.com/2maXbNAGV2
Earlier in September 2020, an investigation by LRPF revealed that 70% of the 29,841 Christian pastors, who received one-time government honorarium of ₹5,000 through the Disaster Relief Fund, hold Scheduled Caste / Other Backward Caste certificates illegally. The SC/OBC certificates are given only to practising Hindus.
In light of this, Christian pastors in the state are not applying for the government honorarium in order to enjoy the benefits of Scheduled Caste status.
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