Unfazed Pinarayi continues to attack bishop
CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who had called the bishop a wretched creature for his lie, reiterated his position on Tuesday.
By TNN |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/NEW DELHI: The verbal volley between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Catholic Church over a claim made by Thamarassery Bishop Paul Chitilapally that the late CPM legislator Mathai Chacko had been given the last sacrament as per his wish, is developing into a full-blown battle.
CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who had called the bishop a “wretched creature” for his “lie”, reiterated his position on Tuesday. “A lie is a lie, and just because it is uttered by a bishop it does not become a holy lie,” the CPM leader said.
Mr Vijayan said the bishop’s public speech in September at a minorities’ rights protection rally in which he made remarks about Mathai Chacko was nothing but an act of support for the opposition United Democratic Front.
“In the 2001 assembly elections, the UDF bastions were stormed and they are now trying to take them back,” Mr Vijayan said, pointing out that the bishop is only playing to UDF’s tunes through his speech.
Mathai Chacko’s wife and brother, too, had denied that they had sought the services of a priest for administering the last sacrament. The late MLA’s brother also sent a legal notice to the bishop against the remarks in his speech. However, a leading Malayalam daily queered the pitch for the CPM and the MLA’s family by publishing a marriage certificate to prove that Chacko’s relationship with the church was not limited to just about the last sacrament. A marriage certificate issued by a church certifies that Chacko’s wedding was solemnised in the church.
The Catholic Church in Kerala is up in arms against the CPM leadership after Mr Vijayan’s comments against the bishop. Mr Vijayan continued on the same lines on Tuesday, saying that by making such a remark against a late Communist leader, who had lived a “rich Communist life”, the bishop was indeed indulging in a despicable act.
In Thamarassery, all Church institutions will be closed on Wednesday. The Latin Catholic Aikya Vedi has alsow warned the CPM not to drag the faithful to the streets with such “irresponsible statements.”
CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who had called the bishop a “wretched creature” for his “lie”, reiterated his position on Tuesday. “A lie is a lie, and just because it is uttered by a bishop it does not become a holy lie,” the CPM leader said.
Mr Vijayan said the bishop’s public speech in September at a minorities’ rights protection rally in which he made remarks about Mathai Chacko was nothing but an act of support for the opposition United Democratic Front.
“In the 2001 assembly elections, the UDF bastions were stormed and they are now trying to take them back,” Mr Vijayan said, pointing out that the bishop is only playing to UDF’s tunes through his speech.
Mathai Chacko’s wife and brother, too, had denied that they had sought the services of a priest for administering the last sacrament. The late MLA’s brother also sent a legal notice to the bishop against the remarks in his speech. However, a leading Malayalam daily queered the pitch for the CPM and the MLA’s family by publishing a marriage certificate to prove that Chacko’s relationship with the church was not limited to just about the last sacrament. A marriage certificate issued by a church certifies that Chacko’s wedding was solemnised in the church.
The Catholic Church in Kerala is up in arms against the CPM leadership after Mr Vijayan’s comments against the bishop. Mr Vijayan continued on the same lines on Tuesday, saying that by making such a remark against a late Communist leader, who had lived a “rich Communist life”, the bishop was indeed indulging in a despicable act.
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The Catholic clergy across the state has protested against what they called were unwarranted comments by Mr Vijayan against a religious leader. In Thamarassery, all Church institutions will be closed on Wednesday. The Latin Catholic Aikya Vedi has alsow warned the CPM not to drag the faithful to the streets with such “irresponsible statements.”
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