Christian leaders attack BJP

Church leaders in India have accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of undermining Christianity by proposing changes to marriage laws to discourage inter-faith weddings.

The head of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India, Alan de Lastic, also criticised the BJP-led government for fanning anti-Christian sentiment by raising fears of forced conversions by missionaries.

"We have been in the limelight for the past two years for these supposed mass conversions," Mr de Lastic said.

"I find it strange - when the percentage of Christians in India has gone down to 2.4% from 2.8% - how that can happen."

Mr de Lastic also complained that the government had given church leaders only 10 days to examine the bill.

Under the proposed bill, church weddings would no longer be allowed unless both parties were Christians.

He said the bill's "punitive provisions" should be revised.