BJP’s minority outreach program is in line with PM Modi’s announcement last month
Thiruvananthapuram:
After conducting ‘Sneha Yatra’ to Christian homes on Easter day, BJP leaders in Kerala continued to woo the dominant minority community with their leaders hosting a breakfast for their members on the occasion of Vishu festival on Saturday.
Former Union Minister and party’s Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar attended the breakfast meeting held at the party’s district president VV Rajesh’s house in Thiruvananthapuram.
He received two invited priests of a prominent Christian sect wrapped in a shawl and served them breakfast.
Sources said similar breakfast programs were organized in other districts under the aegis of the local leadership of the saffron party.
The move was seen as another attempt by the BJP to forge closer ties with the Christian community as part of its efforts to woo them ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Shri Javadekar later said that India is a land of diversity and the country’s ethos is to live and let live. He told reporters, “On earth, this is one of the few countries where all people and all religions live together and celebrate all festivals. So, today is Vishu and we are all here.”
Stating that BJP leaders and workers had visited many houses to extend greetings on Easter, he said he invited all Christian and Muslim friends and neighbors to the party functionaries’ homes on Vishu. Javadekar dismissed this allegation by political opponents, saying, “So, this is the real India and we nurture it…this is the nature of the BJP.”
In a tweet, Mr Javadekar said the BJP is conveying PM Modi’s message that “we are all citizens of India, regardless of religion or caste.” The state leadership of the BJP had already announced that they would also visit the homes of members of the Muslim community in the state to greet them on the occasion of Eid next week.
The BJP’s massive minority outreach program is in line with PM Modi’s announcement last month that the party would retain power in the southern state.
In Kerala, both the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress criticized the BJP’s attempt to woo the Christian community, alleging that it indicated the “double standards” of the saffron party.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)