Hindu organisations and villagers have opposed the construction of a church in a village with no Christian households in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district. The church is being constructed in Lokavalli village of Mudigere taluk and the development has already stirred a controversy. The locals and Hindu organisations have claimed that since there were no Christian families in the village, the church should not be constructed The locals have also alleged that the church is being constructed to carry out religious conversions. The church is constructed in the land of one Ranga, from Haandi village near Mudigere. The police are yet to react to the issue. The development has caused concern in the communally sensitive region of Chikkamagaluru which was considered as the bastion of the BJP. But in the last Assembly elections in May, the BJP suffered a humiliating defeat. Former National General Secretary C.T. Ravi lost the elections from Chikkamagaluru constituency to his right hand man turned Congress candidate. The article is published on thestatesman.com