Overview

• Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar met church leaders on August 1 and said Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah will not oppose the nuns’ bail pleas, calling the case a misunderstanding
• A Durg sessions court directed the case to the Bilaspur NIA court under the NIA Act, leaving Sisters Vandana Francis and Preethi Mary in judicial custody until their bail hearing
• Cardinal Baselios Cleemis and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India warned they will reconsider the church’s relationship with the BJP if justice is not delivered for the arrested nuns
• MPs from Kerala’s LDF and UDF, joined by national Congress figures, continue protests in Kerala and New Delhi demanding the nuns’ release and decrying misuse of anti-conversion laws
• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and state police maintain the arrests under trafficking and conversion statutes followed lawful procedure based on credible complaints