The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seemed to face strong socio-political headwinds on Christmas Eve on Tuesday.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) alleged disruption of a Christmas carol taken out by Nallepilly Government Upper Primary School students appeared to imperil the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) expanding outreach to the Christian community in Kerala.
It also did not help the BJP that the Palakkad district police were investigating Sangh Parivar workers suspected of vandalising a crib depicting the nativity of Jesus Christ assembled by students of GBUP School, Thattamangalam.
For one, Yuhanon Meletius, Metropolitan bishop of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church’s Thrissur Diocese, sparked a condemnatory public debate by noting in a social media post that cribs were revered in some places and vandalised in other regions.
Notably, the Bishop’s post came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Christmas celebration hosted by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India (CBCI) in New Delhi.
Soon, Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, the Catholicos of the East and Metropolitan of the Malankara Church, denounced the incidents as “disturbing”.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Congress, smarting from BJP candidate Suresh Gopi’s thumping victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, where Christians form a sizeable electoral bloc, seized on the incident to derail the BJP’s “Christmas outreach” to the minority community.
CPI(M) and Congress workers protested in Palakkad, singing Christmas carols and dressing up as Santa Claus.
At the same time, the BJP’s rank and file fanned out across Kerala, knocking on the doors of parishioners and Church leaders to convey Mr. Modi’s festival greetings.
In his Christmas message, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Sangh Parivar’s attack on Christmas celebrations had brought ignominy to Kerala. He called for social unity to isolate such “divisive and uncivilised forces”.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan spotlighted the “sharply contrasting aspects” of the BJP’s attempt to court the Christian community in Kerala. He equated BJP’s “overtures” “to Christians to a “wolf in the sheep’s clothing”.
The BJP scrambled to hit the reset button, facing stiff public opposition. Union Minister of State George Kurian quickly denounced the incidents.
BJP State president K. Surendran told The Hindu that the BJP expelled its Wayanad district secretary for anti-Christian remarks. “The Congress welcomed him to its fold,” he noted.
VHP State secretary Viji Thampi said Bajrang Dal and VHP workers had gently pointed out to school authorities that sending schoolchildren to perform Christmas carols at nearby homes violated juvenile justice rules. “The police arrested them on trumped-up charges, he claimed.
Published – December 24, 2024 09:25 pm IST