The “marriage of convenience” between the BJP and the Church has been called off by the latter on Saturday. Joseph Pamplany, the Archbishop of Thalassery Archdiocese declared on Saturday that there would not be any kind of alliance between the Hindutva party and the Church hereafter. “What is happening in Manipur and the silence maintained by the Centre on reports about continued attacks on Church establishments and the Christians are a matter of concern. This is the main reason behind our decision not to have any kind of liaison with the BJP,” said the Archbishop to a TV news channel.
It was Archbishop Pamplany, a strong voice in the Church hierarchy in Kerala who floated the possibility of an alliance between the Christian community and the BJP. While addressing a convention of the Church-sponsored Farmers Union of Kerala, he had said that if the BJP helps the rubber cultivators in Kerala to get a price of Rs 300 per quintal, the party need not worry about the fact that they do not have any Lok Sabha members from the State. “The Church would help them win at least three seats from Kerala,” the Archbishop had said during the convention.
The Archbishop also said that neither he nor the Church subscribe to the views of the Sangh Parivar viz-a-viz Love Jihad and Narcotics Jihad. “We will not use these terms hereafter because it hurts the sentiments of the Muslim community,” he said on Saturday. Interestingly, the Bishop of Pala Joseph Kallarangattu had declared during a religious congregation that Narcotics Jihad was a reality and had spoiled the lives of many girls from the community. The Kerala Police has filed a criminal complaint against the Bishop for “hurting the religious sentiments and trying to foment hatred between various communities in the State”.
When the Archbishop was asked about the Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CAASA) that was campaigning for an alliance with the Hindus and the BJP, he said that he does not know anything about the organization. “There are many such outfits claiming to be working with the blessings of the Church. But CAASA is not one among them and nobody from it has contacted me,” said Archbishop Pamplany.
Taking a cue from the statement made by the Archbishop, the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council issued a statement that the Church was against any move to bring in Uniform Civil Code in the country. “We will not support any move that is against the religious pluralism of India.