KOCHI: The Sadbhavana Meet organised by Indian Minorities Foundation (IMF) and Save Our Nation (SON) India, two organisations closely associated with the Sangh Parivar, provided an opportunity for Church leaders to raise their concerns on a plethora of issues ranging from attacks on Christians across the country to minority rights.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who inaugurated the meet, stressed that it was not a dialogue for votes but a platform to cooperate for the country’s development. Latin Catholic Council Kerala region general secretary Fr Thomas Tharayil expressed concern over the attacks on Christians and criticised the reluctance to appreciate the service rendered by the community in healthcare and education.
“Latin Catholics are not getting due representation in Central service due to flawed reservation policies. The community doesn’t get representation in judiciary as well. Dalits who convert to Christianity should be provided reservation benefits equal to the Scheduled Castes. Students from minority communities should be provided scholarships, and fishermen, majority of whom are Latin Catholics, should be provided a special welfare package,” he said.
Chandrasekhar said: “This is not a dialogue for votes, but an attempt to cooperate to achieve common goals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has acknowledged the role of Christian community in building modern India.”
“Some vested interests are trying to slow down India’s development into a global power. We should defeat attempts to derail India’s development,” he said. Former president of the Trained Nurses’ Association of India Sister Gilbert, K M Cherian Institute of Medical Science MD Fr Alexander Koodarathil, IMF convenor Satnam Singh Sandhu and SON India chairman Col S Dinny spoke. A booklet on ‘PM Modi’s special bond with Christians’ written by BJP youth wing former national secretary Anoop Antony was released.
Referring to the case registered against him for his comments following the blasts during a prayer meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery, Chandrasekhar said he was branded communal for speaking about a terror organisation. “I am the son of an Air Force officer. Calling me communal is equivalent to calling Osama Bin Laden a humanitarian,” he said.
‘Bridging South' to counter 'cutting South'
The RSS will organise ‘Bridging South’, a series of seminars, across the country from December 12 to expose the alleged agenda behind ‘Cutting South’, a seminar to be held in Kochi on March 25 next year. The seminar series, being organised by Kesari, the cultural mouthpiece of the Sangh parivar in Kerala, will be launched at a conclave in New Delhi. “We are organising the conclave in Delhi to bring the agenda behind Cutting South to the nation’s attention. Similar seminars will be organised in Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam in the next one year,” said RSS national convenor (cultural outfit) Prajna Pravah J Nandakumar.