Kerala nuns' arrest reignites political and ecclesiastical fault lines in State ahead of polls
Sensing the political resonance of the issue, both the UDF and the LDF have already despatched delegations to the prison, a move that aims at reinforcing their connect with the Christian community. Their intervention has been matched by sharp attacks on the BJP's Kerala unit, which has been struggling to shake off perceptions of its parent outfit's alleged hostility towards minorities.
Francis George MP, leader of the Kerala Congress and part of the UDF delegation in Chhattisgarh, has maintained that the BJP's hidden face in Kerala stands exposed through this episode. 'They have tried to woo the Christian community here. But this incident has revealed that their political agenda does not include any real concern for our community. Outside Kerala, their affiliates like the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad thrive on hatred against Christians,' he pointed out.
'TKerala nuns' arrest'
Jose K. Mani, MP and chairperson of the rival Kerala Congress faction, too has reached Chhattisgarh and is expected to meet the nuns on Wednesday. The party led by him, the Kerala Congress (Mani), too has framed the arrest as a targeted assault on grassroots-level empowerment work led by the Catholic Church in tribal and marginalised communities.
The protests led by both the coalitions are gathering momentum, especially in central Travancore, where Christian community wield considerable political clout.
Meanwhile, the episode appears to have stirred unrest within the Catholic Church itself with a section of the clergy voicing concerns over the silence of certain Bishops, some of whom had earlier publicly lauded the BJP's national leadership and cultivated ties with party leaders at the local level.
'Whenever incidents of violence against Christians were reported from North India and Karnataka, it was Archbishop Peter Machado of Bengaluru who took the initiative to approach the Supreme Court seeking justice,' noted a senior Catholic priest. 'Neither the Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church nor the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) were willing to support him or join the case.'
'Even when Father Stan Swamy was branded a Maoist, imprisoned, and died in custody, the Church leadership in Kerala stuck to the line that Christians were safe under BJP rule — and continued Christmas and Easter courtesy visits to its leaders, ' he added.
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