Continuing their effort to reach out to Christians in Kerala, a group of BJP leaders, led by Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla on Monday visited a famous Church in Ernakulam district and promised all help for the development of an ancient pilgrim centre connected with it.

After visiting the St Thomas Church, Malayattoor, the Union Minister said he would help clear all the bottlenecks in the way of the development of the pilgrim centre under the Centre's ambitious Prasad project, party leaders said.

Barla was accompanied by BJP state vice president A N Radhakrishnan, Minority Morcha state president Jiji Joseph and local leaders of the party.

"Visited the historic St Thomas Church Malayattoor in Ernakulam today and had an amazing breakfast with the priest of the church! Got to hear their grievances and proposals for new projects," Barla said in a tweet. It is believed that St Thomas, one of the 10 apostles of Jesus Christ, had landed on the Kerala coast in AD 52 and visited Malayattoor hill, making it one of the biggest pilgrim centres of Christians in Kerala.

The Union Minister later visited Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), at his archdiocese in Thrissur.

"Had an incredible experience visiting the Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop's House in Thrissur and sharing a delicious lunch with the distinguished Rev MAR THAZHATH ANDREWS, Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissur and President of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India," Barla tweeted.

He said it was an honour to meet such an esteemed religious leader and learn more about his important work in promoting the Catholic faith and serving his community.

According to the United Christian Forum (UCF), a Christian rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) quoted by the Unites States' Department of State's 2021 'Report on International Religious Freedom: India', the number of violent attacks against Christians in the country rose to 486 during the year from 279 in 2020.

Before meeting the archbishop, Barla interacted with priests and Christian leaders and the faithful at the Divine Retreat Centre in Chalakudy and shared with them the latest initiatives and schemes of the Central government. In a Facebook post, the minister also said he apprised them about the "vision and mission of our beloved Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji".

"As a nation, we are making great strides towards progress and development, and I'm excited to see the positive impact of these schemes on the lives of our citizens", he said.

The BJP has been increasingly reached out to members of the Christian community in Kerala since Prime Minister Modi's announcement last month that the party would capture power in the southern state.

After organising a 'sneha yatra' to Christian homes on Easter day, the BJP leaders in Kerala hosted breakfast for the members of the minority community on the occasion of Vishu last Saturday. Both the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress in Kerala has criticised the BJP’s bid to woo the Christian community and alleged that it indicated the saffron party’s “double standards.”

(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Apr 17, 2023 10:13 PM IST