THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With parties in the final stages of preparing their election manifestos, the Latin Catholic Church is actively pushing for the inclusion of the recommendations of the J B Koshy Commission.
As in previous elections, the Church has submitted a 15-point charter of demands to the manifesto committees of major political fronts, ranging from coastal development initiatives to reservations in education and employment.
This time, their push is strengthened by the release of the J B Koshy Commission report, which recommends extending minority benefits to Christians in proportion to their population. The report, published just weeks before the election announcement, contains 284 recommendations, addressing nearly 70% of the community’s long-standing demands in areas such as education, employment, reservation policy, and welfare measures. The report mentioned that the Latin Catholics are the most-vulnerable community among Christians, apart from converted Christians.
“The report covers some of our long-pending demands, which are mentioned as recommendations,” said Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) vice-president and spokesperson Joseph Jude.
“It is not our entire set of demands, but still it is favourable to the community,” he added. KRLCC is the apex body of Latin Catholics in Kerala.
The Church has made it clear that they will take a political stand based on the responses from the political parties. In Thiruvananthapuram, with seven constituencies where the Latin Church plays a decisive role, the KRLCC plans to hold a ‘meet the candidate’ programme.
Representation
The LC Church is also gauging the response of parties in terms of representation
LDF has made early inroads through coastal devpt initiatives, and representation in its candidate list
Church representatives said UDF has already offered Vypeen, where they represent 34% of the voters, along with Kochi and Ernakulam