On 19 April 2026, a delegation of Christian religious leaders and representatives of multiple church organisations met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai, expressing support and raising concerns related to minority rights, while political messaging attributed to Christian bodies triggered fresh controversy during the ongoing election period.
The meeting was led by Archbishop Chinnappa and included representatives from a wide spectrum of organisations, including the South India Church, National Council of Churches in India, Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council, Orthodox Church, Jesus Calls, AG Church, Indian Evangelical Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and the Jesus Redeems organisation. DMK MP P. Wilson was also present during the interaction.
During the meeting, bishops conveyed their appreciation to Stalin, stating that minorities felt secure under his leadership. They expressed gratitude for what they described as his stance in safeguarding minority communities.
One said, “We convey our greetings to you. Just as you raised your voice powerfully and strongly for the Delimitation Bill and established justice, you continue to speak out on many issues and concerns, not only for the Christian minority but for everyone whose lives are threatened. You always stand for justice. We are happy. The entire Christian community stands with you and will continue to stand with you; there is absolutely no doubt about that. Thank you.”
The next one said, “Your journey will surely succeed going forward, we have no doubt about that, not even a little. And in the same spirit for which we have gathered here, as all the bishops have said, we support you through our prayers so that you may stand firmly.”
The third said, “For the first time, a single leader in India has raised his voice against this law, against this bill. Similarly, MP Wilson has also spoken in Parliament. First they isolated the Muslim brothers and crushed them. Now they are trying to isolate and destroy the Christian minority, to strangle their voice. That is why we have come to you. You are our hope.”
A lady said, “In the last 10 years alone, over 20,000 FCRA [Foreign Contribution Regulation Act] registrations have been cancelled – 70% of them belonging to Christian communities. As if that’s not enough, they are now planning to bring an Amendment Bill that will impact us even more. Only you can protect this minority community, specifically our Christian community. Just as you defeated the Delimitation Amendment Bill, we, all Christians, earnestly request you to defeat the FCRA Amendment Bill as well. We firmly believe you will certainly do this. God bless you.”
The next one said, “You are the only CM fighting for the minorities continuously. You are reading and seeing on TV – the Delimitation Bill was defeated two to three days back because of your efforts only. You are the first CM to react and condemn that it should be scrapped, should not be entertained.”
Another said, “A hundred years ago, there were no schools in India other than Christian schools. Today, Christian schools and homes are being systematically destroyed by the Central government. Only you can do this. We do not see you as a State leader, we see you as a national leader. We do not see you as Chief Minister, we see you as Prime Minister. You must come and do all these things.” (Conveys greetings on behalf of the Church.)
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Following the meeting, pamphlets circulated in the name of Christian organisations contained sharply worded political messaging. The content of these pamphlets stated that it was the “duty of Christians” to defeat “Sanatan forces” allegedly attempting to turn Tamil Nadu into a “land of unrest.” The pamphlets further claimed that restrictions imposed by the central BJP government on foreign funding had adversely affected the functioning of Christian institutions.
The pamphlets also referred to actor-politician Vijay, stating that although he had described the BJP as his ideological opponent, he had not demonstrated it in practice. Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman was accused in the pamphlets of promoting “Tamil Hindutva” by invoking Lord Murugan as a civilisational ancestor.
While acknowledging that the DMK government had its shortcomings, the pamphlets asserted that it was actively opposing “communal politics.” They emphasised that in the current election, the priority should not be who wins but who must be defeated, clearly signalling a call for strategic voting. The messaging explicitly warned voters against supporting smaller parties, stating that doing so could enable the growth of “communal forces” in Tamil Nadu.
However, on the same day, the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council (TNBC), a Catholic body withdrew its endorsement of the alliance, after the office-bearers of the Tamil Thesiya Christian Iyakam demanded an explanation from the TNBC over distribution of pamphlets among parish members soliciting votes for the DMK alliance.
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