BJP has decided to resume the yatra during the Christmas season
With the Lok Sabha polls just months away, the BJP in Kerala on Thursday resumed its 'Sneha Yatra', an outreach programme aimed at connecting with the Christian community in the state. The saffron party initially launched the initiative during this year's Easter.
In a recent state committee meeting, the party decided to resume the yatra during the Christmas season.
BJP state chief K Surendran visited Cardinal George Alencherry, the former head of the prominent Syro Malabar Church, at St Thomas Mount in nearby Kakkanad in the morning and conveyed Christmas greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also visited Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparbil of the Latin Archdiocese of Verapoly, and conveyed the wishes of the Prime Minister.
Later, Surendran said in a Facebook post that it marked the beginning of 'Sneha Yatra' in the state.
He also shared photos of his cordial meetings with the church heads.
The Congress in Kerala likened the "sneha yatra" to the kiss of Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ for thirty silver coins.
However, the church authorities and the BJP leadership were yet to make clear the topics of discussion that came up during the closed-door meeting.
A BJP leader said the meeting with Alencherry extended for over 45 minutes, and it was a warm and friendly meet.
"It was a friendly meeting... The BJP chief conveyed Prime Minister Modi's greetings to him. They later had breakfast together," K S Shaiju, the party's district president, told PTI.
Asked whether any political issues ahead of the Lok Sabha polls came up for discussion, the leader did not divulge any details.
"The objective of the visit was to convey the PM's greetings," he said.
He also rejected media reports that there were differences between the Church and the saffron party after the Manipur violence issue.
"It was just a creation of the media. Both the BJP and the church have always maintained a cordial relationship," he added.
Though many senior bishops of various denominations have made pro-BJP statements on several occasions in the state in recent times, the alleged silence of the party-led union government on the Manipur violence issue has reportedly created differences between them.
According to BJP sources, the objective of the yatra is to bring the Christian community closer to the saffron party.
The party leaders and workers would visit Christian homes with the message from the Prime Minister till December 30.
The party also recently decided to carry out 'padayatras (foot marches)' across the state with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls.
Prominent BJP leaders and workers had conducted the Sneha Yatra, visiting Christian homes and religious heads on the occasion of Easter earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Congress party in the state on Thursday strongly criticised the BJP's initiative to reach out to the Christian community and said it was not "sneha yatra", the journey of love, but the "kiss of Judas".
In a hard-hitting statement, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran alleged that Sangh Parivar only has a history of betraying minorities.
The BJP leaders who were visiting Christians ahead of Lok Sabha elections were not conducting "sneha yatra" but the kiss of Judas who betrayed Jesus Christ for thirty silver coins, he said.
While Sangh Parivar forces were unleashing violence against minorities in all parts of the country, they were showcasing a "special love" towards them in Kerala, he added.
Accusing the Prime Minister of continuing silence on the Manipur violence, Sudhakaran said the issue garnered national attention after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the affected areas of the north eastern state.
Manipur had become a strife zone after the BJP government came to power there in 2017, the Congress leader further alleged and said Kerala has many things to learn from the atrocities being reported there and other parts of the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)