Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has dared the Catholic Church in Kerala to come clean on the reports that there had been `intense
pressure` from some senior Bishops for the merger of Kerala Congress factions led By P J Joseph and K M Mani and the former to quit the LDF ministry.
"The Catholic Church should come out with a clarification on this issue since it is not proper for the Church to interfere in politics", Vijayan said at a party meeting in
Kannur district last evening.
"The bishops can air their views on religious matter. But it is not proper for them to interfere in political matters.
If a section of the clergy has done such an immature thing, they should correct themselves", Vijayan said.
It was a widely accepted principle that religion should confine itself to issues of faith and such an approach was all the more important in secular polity, he said.
He said his party did not think that the entire clergy in the Church was opposed to the LDF, though it was a fact a section of priests and some bishops were ardent in their
anti-LDF stance.
"LDF has never taken in its fold a party that admits that it is being controlled by religious establishment. When Joseph joined the LDF,he came upholding secular ideals,Vijayan said."
Joseph was dropped from the cabinet by Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Saturday shortly after the minister announced his decision to quit the ministry to pave way for his party’s merger with Kerala Congress (M), which is a partner in the Congress-led UDF.
There have been reports that a powerful lobby in the Syro Malabar Catholic Church had prompted Joseph to leave the LDF and enter the UDF through the merger route, so that the "united party" could emerge as major political force in the Christian-dominated Central Travnacore Region.
Thinking is strong in sections of the Christian community and church establishments that a strong Kerala Congress would help the interests of the church, especially in sectors like
education.
The Church has been persistently accusing LDF Government of deliberate attempts to give anti-religious orientation to education.
PTI
