Kerala: 8 Church Leaders Meet PM Narendra Modi In Kochi

Eight leaders belonging to some of the major Christian communities of the state met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi after his address at the Yuvam conference.

The Church leaders who met the Prime Minister were Cardinal George Allencherry of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Baselios Marthoma Mathews III of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Joseph Mor Gregorios of the Jacobite Church, Joseph Kalathiparambil of the Latin Catholic Church, Mathew Moolakkatt of the Knanaya Church, Kuriakose Mar Severios of the Knanaya Jacobite Archdiocese and Mar Awgin Kuriakose of the Chaldean Syrian Church.

Among the issues discussed with the Prime Minister were 'attacks on Churches', houses for fishermen in areas coming under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules, Scheduled Caste status for Dalit converts, rubber prices and restoration of the nominated seat for Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha.

Church leaders later said that the Prime Minister listened to them patiently and agreed to look into their demands.

The meeting is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ongoing outreach to Christians in the state. The party recently took out a Sneha Yatra to homes of Christians on Easter Day while the Prime Minister visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Delhi.

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