Congress, BJP up in arms over CPM's note on 'communalism in colleges'

A note by the CPM on how the presence of communalism and terrorism is attracting the youth in the educational institutions of Kerala has invited the wrath of both the Congress and the BJP.

What has raised the eyebrows is that this note was prepared by the state unit of the CPM for distribution on September 10 to all its lower committees, which are getting ready to meet ahead of the upcoming state conference of the party scheduled to be held in Kochi in February next year.

Incidentally, it was on September 9 that the Syro Malabar Church Pala diocese bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt had said that Catholic girls are becoming victims of 'love' and now 'narcotic jihad', kicking up a row.

Reacting to the CPM note, the Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan termed it as a serious issue.

"If the CPM has any data on this, it should be made public. We wish to know if there is any evidence on this and if a case has been registered on this matter. The CPM and the government has a moral responsibility on this," said Satheesan.

Joining the issue, state BJP President K. Surendran asked why is it that the CPM is unable to accept in public that 'Love Jihad' exists.

"This is what we have been saying for a while now and it's baffling that the CPM is continuing its silence in the public domain on this issue. A strong probe has to be launched into the matter," said Surendran.

Ever since the bishop made the statement, a series of visits has been made to the bishop by the top leaders from the Congress and the BJP. On Friday, state Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan, also a top CPM leader, made a visit to the bishop.

But due to the presence of the media, Vasavan tried to play down the visit and termed it as just a routine call to the headquarters of the Pala bishop, as it falls in his home district and he has always held the bishop in high esteem.

(IANS)