The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on Thursday held a press conference discussing the burning issue of 17-year-old Lavanya’s suicide over the forceful conversion to Christianity in Tamil Nadu. In the presser, BJP Mahila Morcha President and MLA from Tamil Nadu Vanathi Srinivasan stated that the state BJP unit is not content where the probe is headed and has demanded a CBI investigation into the matter.

Since the unfortunate incident has taken place, the religious angle involved in the targeting of Lavanya, which ultimately led to her death has been conveniently ignored in the mainstream narratives in Tamil Nadu. Besides the media downplaying the missionary connotations in the case, it was also the administration that started harassing the man who took the video of Lavanya’s dying declaration.

However, the Madras High court had ordered the Tamil Nadu cops to ‘conduct themselves appropriately’ and passed an interim order for probing the cause behind Lavanya’s suicide and not the man who recorded her allegations. Since then, ‘Justice for Lavanya’ has created a massive outrage in Tamil Nadu politics with state BJP President K Annamalai leading the cause.

On Thursday, In a press conference held at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan explicitly expressed that the state BJP unit does not have any faith in the investigation by the police and demanded that it has to be handed over to the CBI. She added, “The Education Minister has (declared) that the education ministry would also conduct an enquiry, in which he has not openly discussed the conversion angle involved. This again raises doubts about how the state government is dealing in this case.”

On behalf of her party, she said that the BJP is strongly apprehending this doubt and thus has come to a conclusion that a fair investigation would not be conducted by the TN government. She also stressed upon giving compensation to the victim’s family.

Furthermore, Srinivasan emphasizes the case for an act ‘to prevent the forceful conversions in the state of Tamil Nadu’ before the Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. A national committee of four BJP Mahila Morcha members has been formed, which is tasked to meet the victim’s family and thence prepare a report on the case, which will be submitted to BJP National President JP Nadda. The committee includes BJP leader Sandhya Rai, MP from Madhya Pradesh, Vijayashanti from Telangana, BJP Maharashtra state VP Chitra Wagh and BJP leader Geetha Vivekananda from Karnataka.

While speaking at the press conference BJP spokesperson added, “When parents of the victim are crying for Justice in front of the Government of Tamil Nadu, those who fight for so-called women empowerment are absent” He also took a jibe at the Congress without taking the party’s name over giving ‘Ladki hoon Lad Sakti hoon’ slogans reminding its involvement in the state government as an ally.

The concern over the quest for Justice has made many rounds on social media. Many activists, politicians, and intellectuals have demanded a fair probe in the case and justice for the innocent 17-year-old girl who died by a suicide attempt. With the press conference of BJP now demanding CBI enquiry, the issue has reached the national center stage.

Mother of Lavanya blasts media for doubting her daughter’s dying declaration

The mother of M Lavanya, a student of standard 12th in Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Thirukattupali in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, who had committed suicide on January 20 has slammed the media for questioning the dying declaration of her daughter. In a video acquired by OpIndia, the deceased student’s mother has opened up about the torture perpetrated on her daughter by the missionary school authorities to convert to Christianity, that compelled her to take her life.

She is heard stating unequivocally that her daughter killed herself as a result of the treatment she was put to by the missionary school for refusing to convert to Christianity.

Miffed by the media trying to grill her over the ‘conversion angle’, the mother remarked angrily, “Do you want to say what she said in her dying declaration is false”. Her strong reaction came after the journalist told her that the police have maintained that the allegation that Lavanya was facing pressure to convert to Christianity from the school authorities was false.

Further explaining her deceased daughter’s plight which compelled her to end her life, the aggrieved mother said that they have lost their daughter today due to the torture and pressure exerted on her to convert by the authorities of the govt-aided Christian missionary school. “She was compelled and tortured and now she is no more…We want Justice, lamented the mother, as she revealed that her daughter was being pressured and coerced to take up Christianity for the last two years. References:

“She was asked to wash bathrooms and do other chores and was tortured…”, said the mother as she demanded the arrest and capital punishment for the two school wardens, identified as Sahay Mary and Rocklyn Mary who she said were responsible for the death of her daughter.

“We have lost our daughter but we do not want the same to happen with anyone else’s child…she should be the first and last to go through this torture”, said the mother demanding strict action against the school.

‘If she becomes like us she will get the respect and stature she deserves’, the mother reveals how the TN missionary school was after her to let her daughter convert

M Lavanya’s mother recalled how the school had directly asked her to let the child convert to Christianity. “How are you going to make your daughter study, let her become like us. If she becomes like us she will get the respect and stature she deserves,” they had said. She added that she had a fight with the wardens regarding this but to no avail. “They continued to harass my daughter. They used to tell her that she is a bright girl and even threatened her that if she revealed these things to us they will spread rumors about her character. Probably that’s the reason why she did not reveal anything to us”, revealed M Lavanya’s mother.

She further added that they asked the school for a Transfer Certificate (TC) but the school was shut due to Covid. “We were waiting for the school to reopen and give us the TC so that we could apply to some other school. We approached the school after the Pongal holidays and asked for the TC which they denied. Our daughter was an excellent student. She placed first in the class. We wanted her to continue her studies. If something like this can happen to a student who use to come first in class imagine what would happen to the lesser bright students of the school”, remarked the irked mother.

Mother refutes police claims of no conversion angle

When the journalist tried to badger her with the police claims of no conversion angle being present in the suicide case, she lambasted, “Do you want to say what she said in her dying declaration is false”.

Notably, while speaking to News18, M Lavanya’s disgruntled mother reiterated their demands. “We demand that they be jailed and the school must be sealed immediately. We have three more children, we want them to study well. I hope that somebody helps us get justice for our daughter”.

Answering the same question posed to her regarding the police claims, she said, “we are ordinary daily labourers, so the police did not take our complaints seriously. Officials did not believe anything we said regarding the case.”

In an appeal to PM Narendra Modi, the aggrieved mother said: “We want to extend a request to PM Modi as well and say that please don’t let this happen to any other girl. All we want is justice for our daughter.”

Meanwhile, a massive row has erupted in Tamil Nadu following the death of the class 12 student. Many BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu have hit the streets demanding justice for the deceased class 12 student M Lavanya and her family and demanded stringent action against the missionary school which compelled the student to end her life.

Tamil Nadu police to probe suicide of student based on her dying declaration alleging ‘forced to convert’ by a missionary school

It may be noted that only yesterday, the Tamil Nadu police had agreed to register the girl’s dying declaration in the case, where she alleged that the govt-aided Christian missionary school she went to had been pressuring her to convert to Christianity, and base the probe on it.

Prior to this, the initial FIR filed by the TN police had simply mentioned that the student was residing at the hostel and that on January 9, the warden reportedly compelled her to undertake household tasks. She apparently attempted suicide because she couldn’t stand the brutality any longer.

Speaking about this development, Thanjavur Superintendent of Police Ravali Priya Gandhapuneni had said that the girl’s parents’ initial statement was bereft of the conversion angle. She added that a new petition has been filed, in which the angle will be investigated as well.

It may be recalled that a video of Lavanya’s call for help was published on social media where she was seen talking about her torture. The video, originally in Tamil (translated by The Commune) says, “My name is Lavanya. They (school) had asked my parents in my presence if they can convert me to Christianity and help her for further studies. Since I didn’t accept, they kept scolding me.” She also named one Rachael Mary who had allegedly tortured her.

References:

opindia.com - OpIndia Staff