The Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council has written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), seeking a change in the polling date for the Lok Sabha election, as the scheduled date — April 18 — coincides with Maundy Thursday, an important religious event for the Christian community.
In the letter, Rev. Dr. Antony Pappusamy, president, Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council, said the polling date fixed by the Election Commission was not conducive for people belonging to the Christian community.
“If polling is on Thursday, 18th April, there are two important disturbances for the Christian people — [Firstly,] Christian teachers cannot attend religious services on that day. Secondly, since many of the polling stations are in schools and most of these schools are located on church campuses, it would be inconvenient for people to come to church and make arrangements for the religious services,” he said.
Members of the Christuva Nalenna Iyakkam met the CEO on Tuesday and raised the same demand. They said the country was a democracy which respected all religions, and that their request should be considered.
