As the crisis of trust between the Catholic church in Kerala and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to deepen over the raging violence in Manipur, the Kerala Congress parties now appear keen to galvanise the seething anger among the Christians into a political action.
Ever since the outbreak of violence in Manipur, various church factions in Kerala, particularly the Syro Malabar church, have raised concerns over a growing attack on the Christian religious institutions in the northeastern State. The development appears to have handed the Kerala Congress parties, which traditionally commanded a strong presence among the Catholics of Central Travancore, an unforeseen opportunity.
The rival factions led by P.J. Joseph and Jose K. Mani have been vocal about the concerns of the church right from the initial phase of the violence in May. But with more reports on the riot pouring in, they have upped the ante further by staging a host of events at different levels to match the concern registered by the church.
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