BJP Kerala state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday accused opposition parties, including the Congress, of delaying the release of the nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh, alleging that 'political drama' staged by them held up the process for nine days.

Speaking to reporters outside the Durg jail, Chandrasekhar said, "They should have been released three days earlier, but the political drama staged by the opposition caused the delay." However, when asked about what the political drama was, he declined to comment. 

Nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis were granted bail by a special NIA court in Chhattisgarh and were released from prison earlier in the day. The nuns, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested on July 25 by railway police at Durg railway station following a complaint filed by a local Bajrang Dal functionary. The complaint accused them of trafficking and forcibly converting three tribal girls from Narayanpur district.

Rajeev said the BJP had initiated efforts for the nuns' release six days ago, following a request from the Church. "When the Church asked us to intervene and sought help, we did what we could. We sent our general secretary, Anoop Antony, to Chhattisgarh to initiate talks," he said. He added that their release was a happy moment for both the BJP and the entire state of Kerala.

The arrests sparked a political row, with opposition parties raising the issue in Parliament earlier this week. A delegation from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Kerala visited Raipur on Friday to meet the two nuns. The Congress has alleged that referring the case to an NIA-designated court was a deliberate move to delay bail.