THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the state BJP has been trying to contain the damage over the arrest of Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh, differences have cropped up between the state unit and Sangh parivar, with the latter strongly coming out against Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s statement giving a clean chit to the nuns.
With the crucial 2026 assembly elections approaching, the BJP is using all the tricks up its sleeve to wriggle out of the situation with minimal political backlash as both the UDF and LDF have taken up the issue.
Though the BJP has sent its general secretary Anoop Antony, who has a good rapport with national Sangh parivar leaders, to Chhattisgarh, it now knows that nothing more can be done till bail is granted to the nuns. The BJP is facing its worst dilemma with core Sangh parivar organisations toughening their stand against the arrested nuns and Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s statement supporting them.
“Before the judiciary and police come to a conclusion, any statement issued by anyone exonerating the nuns is an injustice to the victims,” state president of Hindu Aikya Vedi, R V Babu, told TNIE. Rejecting the state BJP president’s stance that the nuns are innocent, Babu said that BJP as a political party might take a position.
“However, as organisations working on the basis of Hindutva ideology, we demand that the Christian Church must reject the religious conversion going on, including in states like Kerala. Why are these missionaries carrying out their service only on Hindus and not on Muslims?” he asked. He said that Hindu Aikya Vedi will oppose any attempt to convert Hindus in the name of service or love.
The VHP also slammed state BJP’s stand without naming it. “Instead of saying that the law should take its course, the law-makers have been trying to shield the law-breaker,” VHP central joint secretary, Surendra Jain, said. “The people of Kerala should tell the nuns coming from there to follow their religion and not get involved in any illegal activities or human trafficking. The leaders there should not stand in their favour at all,” he said in a statement.
However, what disturbs the BJP leadership the most is the fact that the entire episode has cast a shadow over its Christian outreach programme. “To a certain level, we have been successful in making inroads into the community,” a BJP core committee member told TNIE. “Now we have to start it all over again.
There is also apprehension in the Minority Morcha which had worked as a bridge between the Church authorities and state BJP leadership. “The inflow of believers from Christian community to BJP will be affected by these developments,” a national leader of the Minority Morcha told TNIE. “At the time of Manipur violence, we did not face such a situation as there was no casualty involving Malayalis. This is altogether a different situation,” he said.
The BJP has already started fire-fighting by deploying leaders like Anoop to get the arrested nuns released and to keep the Church authorities in the loop.