Various political leaders from Kerala have recently voiced their strong protest against the arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal called the arrest a grave violation of the religious freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

"This is not just a case of false arrest, it is an assault on the very idea of religious liberty enshrined in our Constitution," Thangal said in a statement on Saturday.

The Railway Police arrested Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethi Mary from Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh under charges of human trafficking (Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) and religious conversion (Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968). They have been remanded in judicial custody till August 8.

Congress general secretary and MP K C Venugopal also condemned the arrests in a letter to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. He said the nuns were members of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) who run a hospital in Agra. They were at Durg to accompany three young women for employment at the hospital.

Sister Vandana belongs to Udayagiri parish in Thalassery, Kannur, and Sister Preethi Mary to Elavoor parish in Angamaly, Ernakulam.

According to Venugopal, the nuns were accompanying three young women "with full parental consent for employment purposes when they were targeted".

Reports say the arrests followed protests at the station by members of Bajrang Dal, the aggressive youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). They accused the nuns of human trafficking and forced conversion. Hindustan Times quoted a police officer as saying the three women were "lured with promises of good facilities and a monthly salary of ₹8,000 to ₹10,000".

Sadik Ali Thangal said there has been a continued pattern of assaults on minorities across various parts of the country. He described the situation as extremely serious, and he urged all secular-minded citizens to unite and resist these actions.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene and secure the release of the nuns. 

Rajya Sabha member Jose K Mani also wrote a letter to the state government expressing his concerns over the issue.