Kerala minister Rajesh takes dig at Union Minister Suresh Gopi over nuns arrest issue

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Excise Minister M B Rajesh on Saturday took a dig at Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi by saying that the person who went to a church in the state with a gold crown has been silent on the issue of the nuns' arrest in Chhattisgarh.

Rajesh said that "the person who gave a gold-plated copper crown" was nowhere to be seen and has not uttered a word in connection with the arrest of the nuns, referring to Gopi, the Union Minister of State of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Tourism.

This shows the political double standards of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, he alleged.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, Gopi visited the famous Lourde Matha Church in Thrissur city with his family and presented a golden crown to the idol of St Mary during his daughter’s wedding.

The instance was used by his opponents to attack him, alleging that it was not made of gold but copper.

Rajesh also said that the BJP and Sangh Parivar adopt one stand on minority issues in Kerala and a different one outside the state. The minister said that those who are sleeping, can be woken up by such incidents.

"But, if they are pretending to be asleep, such incidents will not change them," he added.

Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.

Nine days later, a special NIA court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district on Saturday granted conditional bail to the three.

There was no immediate reaction from Suresh Gopi.