The BJP has been trying to reach out to the Christian community in Kerala with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on March 2 that the party will come to power in the southern state, the same way that the cadre had been revived in the northeast and Goa.
Even though the Kerala BJP has denied this, the violence in Manipur is likely to create hurdles for the saffron camp in its outreach to the Christian community in the state.
Last Easter, many leaders including the prime minister visited churches, bishops and Christian homes. On Vishu, too, many were invited to BJP leaders’ residences. There were also statements from bishops on the lines that they see all fronts as the same. With this, the BJP was able to create a perception that the party can gain some ground in the state.
“In Manipur, too, the BJP was trying to attract the Christian community. They came to power but we can see what is happening now. How can we believe them? They don’t respect different communities and culture,” said Father Jacob Palackappilly, deputy secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC). He added that the community could not stop any political leadership from approaching them.
“The prime minister has not said a word on the Manipur issue. Manipur is a part of this country. Why has he not said anything on this?” Palackappilly questioned.
“When the home minister came to kerala, the president of CBCI (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India) met him and discussed the Manipur issue and other topics,” he said, adding that the BJP had proved that it cannot be trusted.
“The CBCI and KCBC have responded to the Manipur issue but it is not to the extent required. The kind of atrocities happening in Manipur is not in the spirit of the Indian Constitution. The condition of the people is bad and it definitely needs to be brought up as a main issue. A discussion should be done, at least by the church, in Kerala. But this is not happening,” another Catholic priest said on condition of anonymity.
The priest further said during Easter, the BJP tried reaching out to the community. “It was to make people feel that the BJP is with Christians but in reality that is not the case. This has affected the mindset of the people. They feel that the community is not safe. So outreach will be difficult since they have not touched the people’s minds,” he added.
There was a lot of anger against the BJP with regard to the Manipur issue, said Shaiju Antony, the public relations officer of the Laity Movement. “…There is also distrust towards church leadership that they are not taking any action to urgently raise this issue. The people here are aware of what is happening in other states,” he said.
Antony said the community felt that the BJP-led government was not doing much to stop the attack on churches by fringe elements and many were angry at the church leadership for not raising these issues.
The Kerala BJP, however, denied this and said the violence in Manipur will not have any impact in Kerala and the party’s outreach to the Christian community.
“The people of Kerala have understood that seven out of 10 Kuki MLAs are from the BJP. In Kerala, CPM and Congress tried to raise a campaign against the BJP over the Manipur issue but the people of Kerala understood this,” said state general secretary George Kurian.
“The church leaders have not made a statement on the lines that the BJP is behind these attacks because they know the real situation. They know the fight is between two tribes. Both CPM and Congress are trying to create a narrative like this but it has not had any effect,” said state secretary S Suresh.
Suresh said as part of the BJP’s nine-year term at the Centre, the party was holding a number of outreach programmes. It was meeting people from constituency to constituency.
“As part of this, we are meeting thousands of prominent people in each constituency. Among these, there are many who belong to the Christian community. When we talk to them, they are not raising this issue,” he added.