Forgive us our sins

BJP goes all out to woo the Christian community

- NIRMAL JOVIAL

ON GOOD FRIDAY, which fell on April 7 this year, Kerala BJP vice president A.N. Radhakrishnan embarked on a pilgrimage to the Malayattoor Kurishumudy, a Christian pilgrimage centre in Ernakulam district, situated atop a hill. The pilgrimage involves a gruelling 3km trek with 14 halts marking the ‘way of the cross’. Radhakrishnan’s expedition, however, did not even reach the first halt.

Despite the setback, the BJP appears undaunted in its mission to woo the Christian community in Kerala. On Easter day, prominent BJP leaders made much-publicised visits to various bishop’s houses in Kerala, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Delhi. Three days before Easter, Anil K. Antony, son of former defence minister and veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony, joined the BJP. The BJP knows that Anil does not enjoy much clout, but his entry was used to convey the message that the BJP welcomes Christians, who form around 18 per cent of Kerala’s population.

“The LDF (Left Democratic Front) and the UDF (United Democratic Front) are wooing religious minorities in Kerala by spreading misinformation and creating fear about the BJP and the sangh parivar. Our aim is to clear such fears,” said M.T. Ramesh, BJP state general secretary. The BJP’s Easter outreach was largely focused on the Syro-Malabar church, the biggest Christian group in the state, with around 24 lakh members. Not just the BJP, even other members of the