A senior bishop of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala took a dig on the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a social media put up on Tuesday, forward of Christmas, sparking an argument.
Yuhanon Meletius, the Metropolitan bishop of the Thrissur diocese of the Church, wrote in Malayalam on Fb, “There, bishops are revered and cribs are bowed to. Right here, cribs are destroyed. Isn’t there a phrase in Malayalam for such an motion?”
The bishop was referring to the Christmas occasion hosted by the Catholic Bishops Convention of India (CBCI) in Delhi on Monday, the place the PM was the chief visitor. Concurrently, he identified the 2 separate incidents that befell at Palakkad district in Kerala, during which suspected Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) supporters allegedly tried to disrupt Christmas celebrations at a authorities college on December 20, and a crib was discovered to be vandalised at one other college on Monday.
The Christian chief’s remarks got here at a time when the BJP is conducting an outreach programme with a concentrate on the Christian neighborhood in Kerala and elsewhere. Below the programme, BJP leaders and employees are heading to Christian houses throughout the state to convey Christmas greetings of the PM as a part of its makes an attempt to get nearer to the neighborhood, which accounts for 18% of the state’s inhabitants.
The incident involving VHP leaders befell on the Authorities Higher Major Faculty in Nallepilly the place they allegedly questioned the academics and different employees concerning the causes for celebrating Christmas and ignoring Hindu festivals. Within the second incident, the crib, arrange as a part of Christmas celebrations at a authorities college in Thathamangalam, was allegedly vandalised.
Three VHP leaders have been arrested for the primary incident and despatched to judicial remand.
The Orthodox bishop later instructed reporters on Tuesday, “I see the Delhi occasion (of the CBCI) as a drama. In Malayalam, there’s a saying ‘chopping the neck whereas blowing from mouth’. That’s the style I see.” He meant that the BJP and the PM had been indulging in contrasting actions on the identical time.
After the remarks, Mar Andrews Thazhath, president of the CBCI, instructed reporters, “We didn’t invite a BJP chief to the occasion. We invited the Prime Minister of India. We thanked him for attending the occasion. On the identical time, we appealed to him to take the nation ahead by following the fundamental tenets of the Structure and together with individuals of all faiths comparable to Christians and Muslims within the course of.”
Congress MP KC Venugopal hit out at PM Modi saying, “Are individuals in Manipur in a position to have fun Christmas? Did the PM utter a single phrase about it? As a substitute he spoke concerning the incident in Germany (the place there was an assault on a Christmas market).”
BJP state president Ok Surendran condemned the incident of Christmas celebration disruption on the college in Palakkad and suspected a conspiracy behind it.
“Members of the VHP or different Sangh Parivar outfits are usually not answerable for it. I condemn it within the strongest phrases. It can’t be inspired. There should be sturdy motion. I think a conspiracy behind it. For the previous few years, the BJP has been interacting with the Christian neighborhood in a loving and harmonious method. There are some individuals who don’t prefer it. Some individuals who have left the BJP could have been concerned. I demand a good and clear probe,” he stated.
