KOCHI: Continuing his efforts to find an amicable solution to the decades-old Malankara Church dispute in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the representatives of the Jacobite faction in New Delhi on Tuesday. Jacobite Syrian Church Metropolitan trustee Bishop Joseph Mor Gregorios, Episcopal Synod secretary Bishop Thomas Mor Thimotheos and resident metropolitan Bishop Kuriakose Mor Theophilos met the PM along with Mizoram Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan. The PM had held talks with the representatives of the Orthodox faction on Monday.
“The PM’s intervention has enhanced the importance of the issue and we are optimistic about the talks. He understood the gravity of the issue and said that he would revert to us after studying the documents given by us,” said Bishop Mor Theophilos.“Around 20 lakh people have been pushed out of their places of worship. We told the PM that a solution can be found by implementing the Worship Act of 1991. The faithful have an emotional attachment to the parishes and cemeteries.
We have lost 50 churches and we want to protect the remaining 600 churches which we own. Issues related to religion cannot be solved through court orders” he said.“We will cooperate with any effort to bring peace. The implementation of the Supreme Court order has denied justice to a majority of the community which cannot be ignored,” the Bishop said.
CM doesn’t see politics in talks
The state government does not see any politics in the PM’s intervention as it is a law and order issue, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has said.