Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi has received a notice from India’s Election Commission for his inflamatory campaign speech on December 4 in Mangrol that justified the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in an Indian-style encounter with the police.

The Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case is now before India’s Supreme Court.

In a notice to Modi asking him to submit his reply by Saturday, the Election Commission of India said:

The Commission has considered the various inputs and the complaint, and has viewed the video recording of the said speech referred to above. The Commission, prima facie, is of the view that the references to Late Shri Sohrabuddin and linking his name to terrorism, made in the speech, amounts to indulging in activity which may aggravate existing differences, creating mutual hatred and causing tension between different communities, and would involve violation of the provision of clause (1) and (3) of Item I of the Model Code of Conduct.

Citing the the Model Code of Conduct, the Election Commission said in its notice to Modi:

No party or candidate shall indulge in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.

There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, Churches, Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda.

The Election Commission said that a complaint had also been filed by Teesta Setalvad alleging that Modi’s speech amounted to an open exhortation of violence and misuse of religion for political ends and a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

Stung by persistent criticism of Hindu activists that Christian missionaries in India are pressuring and inducing poor Hindus to convert to Christianity, the Vatican threw the gauntlet at Hindus on the eve of the Diwali festival.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue said on Monday:

Belief and freedom always go together. There can be no coercion in religion: no one can be forced to believe, neither can anyone who wishes to believe be prevented from doing so.

Although Christians account for just 2.3% of India’s population of 1.1 billion people, they’ve faced criticism for several decades from Hindus (80.5% of the population) that missionaries have engaged in converting the poor Hindus through pressure and various inducements.

Some Hindus derogatarily refer to new Christians as “rice converts” suggesting that the poor have been bribed with some rice to renounce their faith and embrace Christianity.

If Hindus can be swayed to desert their faith with a few morsels of rice, it’s a sad reflection on the failure of the Indian state to provide the most basic needs of its citizens.

Cardinal Tauran went on to add in his note to Hindus:

Allow me to reiterate the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which is quite clear on this point: “It is one of the major tenets of Catholic doctrine that man’s response to God in faith must be free. Therefore no one is to be forced to embrace the faith against his own will” (Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, 10). 

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran asked both Hindus and Christians not to be misled:

Our respective communities must pay urgent attention to the education of believers, who can so easily be misled by deceitful and false propaganda.

Cardinal Tauran ended his first message to Hindus since he took over as president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue with Diwali greetings to Hindus.

Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the biggest festivals for Hindus across India as well as for the Great Indian Diaspora.