Kerala Archbishop Promises BJP A Lok Sabha Seat In 2024, On A Condition
Joseph Pamplany said he had made the offer on behalf of farmers.
Hyderabad:
An influential archbishop in Kerala has offered to help the BJP open its account in Kerala in the 2024 parliament elections if the Centre increases the rubber price procurement price to Rs 300 per kg.
Metropolitan archbishop of Thalassery archdiocese in Kannur district, Joseph Pamplany, said he had made the offer on behalf of farmers distressed at the falling price of rubber, and not on behalf of the Catholic Church. He said he had mentioned the BJP as it was the ruling party at the Centre.
Welcoming his statement, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran said the Centre would respond positively to the suggestion.
The BJP, in a press conference on Monday, also accused the ruling Left front in Kerala, and the Congress, of treating Christians in the state like a “vote bank” and not allowing them to express their views freely if they favour the party in power at the Centre.
Union Minister V Muraleedharan accused the Left and the Congress — the two main parties in the state — of targeting those religious Christian leaders whose statements tend to support the BJP. Mr Muraleedharan said Joseph Pamplany has been targeted, including online, for his views.
“Are the CPI(M) and the Congress saying they (Christian priests) don’t have the freedom to express their views if that indirectly support the government of India? It is a ridiculous situation that both these parties claim to be pro-minorities but if Christian leaders speak some facts which may favour the government of India, then they pounce upon them,” the BJP leader from the state said.
He also targeted the Congress for blaming the BJP for alleged attacks on churches, saying these incidents have been reported from Chhattisgarh, where the country’s main opposition party is in power. He noted that the BJP is in power in states such as Goa and those in the northeast, where Christians are in large numbers.
The minister said earlier said an archbishop, who had raised the issue of “narcotics jihad”, was also targeted by the two parties.
Speaking at a meeting attended mostly by farmers, Mr Pamplany had said,”No protest in a democracy has value if it does not translate into votes during elections.”
“We will tell the central government that whichever your party may be, we will vote for you if you can increase the price of rubber to Rs 300. The migrant population will address the issue of your lack of an MP from here,” he had said.
