Thiruvananthapuram: A remark of a Hindu Aikya Vedi (HAV) top leader, in Kerala, that an ancient church in Thrissur was earlier a lord Shiva temple is being raked up by the political opponents to counter Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) bid to make inroads into the Christian vote banks.
The CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) have asked actor-turned politician and BJP's prospective Lok Sabha poll candidate in Thrissur, Suresh Gopi, to respond to the HAV leader's remarks, even as the HAV leader tried to wriggle out of the row by stating that his remarks were being misinterpreted by vested interest groups.
The row is over HAV leader R V Babu's recent remark that the Palayur church in Thrissur, which is believed to be established several decades back, was earlier a Shiva temple.
As the remark triggered criticisms, Babu said in a social media post that attempts were being made by a section with vested interests to make political gains by giving misleading interpretations to his statement. He also said that the attempts by those groups to make political gains over the Manipur violence had failed.
The LDF have asked Gopi to make his stand clear on Babu's remarks. The LDF district committee alleged that the Sangh Parivar leader was trying to trigger communal sentiments by making baseless statements.
(Published 16 February 2024, 15:43 IST)
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