THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Communism always had a strained relationship with the Church in Kerala. The latest spat between the Communists and the Church was triggered by the blasphemous and offensive version of ‘Christ’s last supper’ poster that was put up in the run-up to the recently held CPI(M) state conference. The controversial poster shows US President Barack Obama in place of Jesus Christ, flanked by Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, A K Antony, Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala, L K Advani, Narendra Modi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. It sparked protests and demonstrations in the state, even as the party leadership tried to wriggle out of the mess by disowning those involved in the event.
CPI(M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan tried to downplay the incident, saying, “The party has full respect for Jesus and we consider him as one of the greatest liberation fighters in the history of the world.” Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan supported Vijayan’s remarks by saying, “Jesus Christ was a liberation leader who fought against the injustice and evils in society. Jesus fought against those who tried to commercialise the places of worship. The Church, which is now protesting against the CPI(M), is yet to understand that Jesus liberated the people and the Church.”
Fr. Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary, Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, has an interesting take on the issue. He says, “The controversy over using Jesus Christ’s portrait for the CPI(M) state conference was not created by the Church or its people. In fact, the Church and Christ were dragged into it. The Church was forced to react on the issue.”
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy blames the Left, saying, “The CPI(M) should not have done it. The standard principle is to tender an apology in such cases.”
