Church attacks, nun rape law & order issue, not communal: FM Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asserted that the recent attacks on churches and rape of a nun were not political or communal issues but law and order problems.

He said while the attacks on churches in Delhi were cases of theft and drunken brawl, some Bangladeshi Muslims had allegedly raped the nun in West Bengal.

"Now that most of these cases have been resolved, not a single case is of a majority community attack or of a political nature," he told NDTV.

Regretting that the incidents were portrayed as "a concerted attempt by majority community" attack on place of worship of a minority community, Jaitley said the media was to blame for creating such a perception globally.

"The two cases which have been recalled in Delhi (are) not a majority community attack...One is a case of theft, one is a case of drunken brawl (where a) bottle (was thrown) at window pane (of a church).

"The rape of the nun, which is most terrible thing to happen..., we have arrested some Bangladeshi Muslims. The West Bengal police have arrested them. The Bombay case again you have person of another minority community arrested in a law and order issue," Jaitley said.

He said that with arrests made in each of the cases, it turned out to be a law and order issue.

"Criminals come from Bangladesh and rape nun...," he said.

"We have found that all these incidents were law and order problems. Not a single case was carried out by the majority community... nor was it of political nature or communal."