Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing, says CPI on Church screening 'Kerala Story'

Kasaragod: The real Kerala story is of secularism and inclusion and Christian priests screening 'The Kerala Story' -- a movie on rightwing conspiracy 'love jihad' -- was giving momentum to the politics of BJP, said Communist Party of India (CPI) State Secretary Binoy Viswam.

The movie was released in May 2023 and much after the controversy died, it was revived during the election as part of the agenda of the BJP, said the leader of CPI, a constituent of the ruling LDF government in Kerala.

Christian leaders screening the movie are whitewashing the ideas of the RSS, the parent organisation of the BJP. "They should ponder over what they are doing," Viswam said. The CPI leader took a dig at the Christian leaders by quoting the Gospel of Luke, chapter 23, verse 34: "Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing".

He said the religious leaders should read 'Bunch of Thoughts' by RSS's second chief M S Golwalkar in which he labels Muslims, Christians and communists as India's internal enemies. "If they are targeting Muslims today, don't forget tomorrow they will come for Christians," he said.

He said The Kerala Story was a creation of BJP trying to cover up the 'Gujarat Story' and the 'Manipur Story'. Since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur in May 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited the state, and he broke his silence on the violence after more than two months when a video of two women being paraded naked became public, said Viswam. "The Prime Minister lied that all the problems in Manipur were resolved. Thousands of Manipuris are still living in refugee camps. Neither does he visit the state nor does he apologise to the sisters," the CPI leader said.