Church Of South India Senses Dalit ‘Awakening’; Gives A Call To Dislodge NDA Government At The Centre

In an open letter, the head of the Church of South India (CSI) has called upon the people to unite against the NDA government at the Centre as it follows a ‘Hindutva supremacist ideology’, The New Indian Express has reported.

In the latest instance of the Church trying to influence electoral politics in the country, CSI Moderator Bishop Thomas K Oommen, who holds the top post in the church, criticised the Central government for being anti-people and for being led by ‘right-wing fundamentalist forces’.

“There is no doubt that the government is pro-corporate and unkind to the poor,” the letter read.

CSI is the second largest church denomination in the India with a strong presence in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The Church also wanted Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims to be offered reservations and said that it senses a Dalit ‘awakening’ in the country.

Taking pot shots at the government, the bishop said that demonetisation and GST had ‘ruthlessly’ affected the poor. “The cry of millions of poor farmers to waive their loans off falls upon the deaf ears of a government that happily waives off loans owed by 50 rich people,” the bishop said.

The Church in India faces regular criticism for trying to meddle with politics. However, in the recent state elections, despite the Church’s campaign against it, the BJP successfully established a coalition government in Nagaland.