Church leaders want Kerala to stand with Modi: BJP state president Surendran

Narendra Modi
PM Modi greets people in Kochi on his earlier visit to Kerala. File Photo: PTI

Kochi: The BJP’s determination to carry forward its pro-Christian mission in Kerala was evident as the party articulated its analysis of the mood in the state after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit.

“All top clergymen have, in unison, taken the stance that it would be good for Kerala if everyone stands with Prime Minister Modi,” BJP state president K Surendran told media here on Wednesday.

He was referring to the prime minister's recent meeting with bishops of several church denominations, including the head of the Syro Malabar Church, Cardinal George Alencherry.

Surendran said the PM responded positively to all the issues raised by the bishops.

He said the CPM and Congress tried to play pressure tactics to collapse the meeting, but in vain. The BJP leader said the party would go ahead with its ‘Sneha Yathra’, an outreach programme aiming the support of the minority communities in the state.

BJP state president K Surendran addresses a press conference in Kochi on Wednesday. Photo: Screengrab

The programme was launched on Easter day with BJP leaders visiting church leaders and faithful at their homes. Though the party had reportedly planned a similar programme to visit houses of Muslims on Eid, it was later dropped.

Asked if they have any immediate programme planned to reach out to the Muslims, Surendran said the party would keep interacting with the minority communities. He said the party would organise collectives of the marginalised people too.

On the public programmes attended by the PM in Kerala, Surendran said the visit has unleashed the beginning of a huge change in Kerala’s infrastructure development. “The false propaganda that the Centre neglects Kerala has been exposed. There’s no relevance to such a propaganda anymore. Whenever the prime minister addressed the people, he stressed on bringing more projects for Kerala's development,” Surendran said.

Reiterating Modi’s statement that the state government has not addressed unemployment in Kerala, Surendran challenged Left leaders, including CPM state secretary M V Govindan for a debate on job creation in the state, especially in the health sector.

“There are rampant contract and backdoor appointments in the state. The Centre has implemented development worth Rs 10,000 crore in health sector as part of the National Health Mission. The state has the right to do recruitment for these schemes. The government has done only contract-based and backdoor appointments,” he explained.

Yuvam follow-up
Asked about the prime minister not doing an interaction with the participants of the Yuvam conclave as reported earlier, Surendran said, “nobody had said there would be such an interaction.”

He said his party would organise frequent interactions with youths, entrepreneurs, professional students, technocrats in continuation with the Yuvam event.

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