Fight for central Kerala turns highly unpredictable and fascinating
The Catholic Church’s unprecedented censure of interfaith marriage with Muslims, the riotous quarrel between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the Malankara Church, the crossing over of the Kerala Congress (M) faction led by Jose K. Mani to the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the turbulences within the Congress and the absence of top Left leaders in the poll fray have all turned the fight for central Kerala into an unpredictable, fascinating and critical one.
The region comprising Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur has 50 Assembly segments, of which 31 are held by the LDF. It had done well in Alappuzha and Thrissur districts in the 2016 Assembly polls, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) made hay in Kottayam. The LDF retained Chengannur but lost Aroor in the subsequent bypoll.
The Assam Christian Forum (ACF) on Saturday appealed to the people to vote for candidates who would work for an inclusive and secular society and uphold the Constitution in letter and spirit.
The forum, which represents all denominations of the Church in Assam, warned against the victimisation of people “by the promulgation” of the Citizenship Amendment Act.
This is the first time in recent memory that the forum has issued a pre-election appeal with references to an inclusive society and raging issues of the day.
Ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the forum had confined itself to conducting awareness programmes among voters for free and fair elections and calling for development and jobs for the community.
Synod for wait-and-watch approach
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church will extend help to whichever political formation that helps it out of the crisis it is facing in view of the rival Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church citing a court order and demanding control of a few hundred churches where members of the Jacobite faction are in majority, it was decided at the church synod at Puthen Cruz, near here, on Tuesday.
Even as there were reports that the Jacobite Church had expressed its willingness to extend support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, taking into account the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help settle the issue, the synod members preferred a wait-and-watch approach, it is learnt.
Jacobites call off stir after 50 days
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Criticise State govt. for not bringing out to law to end stand-off
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Criticise State govt. for not bringing out to law to end stand-off
Calling off its 50-day demonstration in front of the Secretariat on Friday, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church strongly opposed the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s stance not to bring legislation to ‘guarantee justice’ for the denomination and resolve its stand-off with the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
The faction also hinted at the possibility of adopting a political stance ahead of the Assembly polls. A political affairs committee will be constituted to decide the faction’s political position.