Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 11 : Minister of State External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Tuesday reacted to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's statement against Prime Minister Modi's church visit and said millions of Christians have been eradicated by communist regimes.
"Chief Minister, first of all, should understand history. In the history of the world, millions of Christians have been eradicated by communist regimes in different countries," MoS Muraleedharan said.
On Monday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting a church in Delhi on Easter and said it is a good thing if it was done as an "atonement for past deeds" of the Sangh Parivar.
PM Narendra Modi on Sunday evening visited the Sacred Heart Church in Delhi's Connaught Place on Easter.
MoS Muraleedharan further said, "In Communist China, the administration directed the Church to remove the pictures of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary and put up a poster of Xi, the Country's President. So, the Chief Minister who belongs to the same ideology, if he comes here and preaches about love or humty, first of all, he should decry such efforts that have been made such attempts, such incidents that have happened."
"He himself has abused the Christian Bishops. He and his administration has levelled criminal charges against Bishops for telling the truth. He is atoning by his such statements if it is so, then I welcome that," he said.
Addressing the CPIM program on Monday at Angamaly, CM Vijayan said, "The Prime Minister of the country visited a famous Christian church in Delhi. It's a good thing if it can atone for everything that's happened so far. Will it be? Will the tiger take a different stance after knowing that taste? Will it travel any other way?"
"Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were seen visiting all the churches in Kerala. So there is no harm here. There is no harm in taking a different position," he added.
Vijayan also said, "Christian hunting is happening outside Kerala. The fact that you (BJP) could not take that position here is not because the Sangh Parivar here has any special minority affection. If you take a communal stand and try to create communal conflict here, the government will take a firm stand. It is a no-compromise position."
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