Visually impaired woman manhandled by BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh speaks out: ‘Celebrating Christmas doesn’t mean I’ve changed religion’
A video from last week showed BJP’s Jabalpur district vice-president Anju Bhargava engaged in a skirmish with a visually-impaired woman after she entered the church premises in Jabalpur’s Katanga area, claiming that children were being converted to Christianity.
The Jabalpur unit of the BJP has issued a show-cause notice to Bhargava asking her to explain her actions. (Photo Enhanced using AI) For years, the Christmas lunch at Prince of Peace Church in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur was something she looked forward to — a festive meal, companionship, and the warmth of community during the holiday season. This year, it ended with a senior BJP leader abusing and manhandling her while levelling allegations of religious conversion.
A video from last week showed BJP’s Jabalpur district vice-president Anju Bhargava engaged in a skirmish with a visually-impaired woman after she entered the church premises in Jabalpur’s Katanga area, claiming that children were being converted to Christianity.
The visually-impaired woman at the centre of Saturday’s confrontation, a school teacher’s wife who dreams of becoming a teacher herself, says she never imagined that attending a Christmas celebration would land her in the middle of allegations of religious conversion, physical intimidation, and a potential police case.
“I came on an invitation for a Christmas lunch. This woman, who I am now told is a BJP leader, had spoken to my niece in a very humiliating way. She asked her why she was present at the event. She abuses us. I was stunned at the time,” the woman said.
She is clear about why she attends the annual Christmas event.
“I come for the Christmas lunch every year because I like it, not because there is some kind of religious conversion going on. There is no pressure or inducement of any kind on us.”
She has pushed back against the narrative that has emerged from right-wing organisations, who have filed complaints questioning how students from a government hostel were brought to a religious site without authorisation.
“Just because I come to celebrate Christmas doesn’t mean that I have changed my religion. We should celebrate all festivals and I see nothing wrong with that. We are not disrespecting any religion,” she said.
The Jabalpur unit of the BJP has issued a show-cause notice to Bhargava asking her to explain her actions. Said Mahanagar president Rakesh Sonkar: “We have asked Anju Bharava to explain her actions as seen in the video. She has been given seven days to explain her conduct”.
Bhargava has defended her actions, stating she received information from local activists that visually-impaired women were being “held against their will” in a dilapidated structure near the church. Police have meanwhile said no FIR has been lodged in the case.
Pastor Gloria of Prince of Peace Church offers a starkly different account. “The blind mission people were using our premises. They came to our church and did their programme. We did not charge them,” she explains. “The blind mission has participants from all religions. During Christmas we give gifts to everyone and not just Christians.”
According to the pastor, the group arrived at the church and immediately began making accusations. “We don’t know who gave them the report. They just came and stood and then began accusing us of religious conversion.” She alleges that Bhargava physically confronted the visually-impaired woman and that church staff were also assaulted. “They tried to force us to give statements,” she adds, noting that this was the first time such an incident had occurred at the church.
Now, the visually-impaired woman is wondering if she should file a police complaint. “I will speak to my relatives and take a call on whether I want to fight this case,” she said.
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