THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Quite different from the session in Kochi, BJP president Amit Shah encountered a different tone and tenor in the capital city when the CBCI president Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos and Archbishop Soosapakiam urged him to do all that is necessary to restore the confidence of minority communities. At ‘Thirusannidhiyil’, the Cardinal’s residence at Pattom, the two prelates, accompanied. This was highlighted at the meeting. “Minorities have to be given their space as the country surges towards development. There has to be a comprehensive action to protect the minorities’ interests where secularism should prevail”, Cardinal Cleemis told Mr Shah. The Cardinal and Dr Soosapakiam, who is also the president of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, however, did not raise the cattle slaughter curbs at the meeting, displaying the Church’s reservations over the way the issue was being handled at the political level.
They read out an 8-point list at the 45-minute meeting, demanding the immediate attention of the Centre. They urged protection for coconut and rubber farmers in the light of GST rollout and wanted stern measures to allay fears of eviction among farmers due to Kasturirangan committee. Dr Soosapakiam sought a new ministry for fisheries. The two prelates urged Mr Shah to impress the Centre on extending a formal invite to Pope Francis to visit the country as he planned to visit Bangladesh soon.
The mood at the meeting was upbeat, as the two sides sought to engage themselves purposefully. The visitors, including BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan and former BJP State president V. Muraleedharan, savoured chilly-flavoured cashew nuts, pista, badam, black halwa and Amit Shah’s favourite sugarless black coffee. In the end, the Cardinal gifted a wooden statue of Jesus Christ in a meditative pose akin to a yogi to Mr Shah. Auxiliary Bishops Samuel Mar Irenios and Christudas Rajappan and parish council secretary Jacob Punnoose also attended the meeting.
