RSS mouthpiece article on church properties shows their 'true mindset': Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram/Kozhikode | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that a recent article in a RSS mouthpiece about the property owned in the country by the Catholic Church indicates the "true mindset" of the right-wing organisation and the alleged "majority communalism of the Sangh Parivar".

In a statement issued by his office, Vijayan said that though the article was removed from the website of the RSS mouthpiece, it gives some "negative signals".

The CM also alleged that it should be seen as part of "a grand plan to target the minority groups one by one and destroy them step by step".

A similar view was expressed by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan who claimed that the article shows that the RSS has now set its eyes on the property of the church.

In his statement, the CM further claimed that it also shows the Sangh Parivar's "intense majority communalism which is against other religious communities".

Vijayan urged all progressive democratic secular movements to jointly resist such moves.

Satheesan, while speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, claimed that in the article the RSS has asked the central government to acquire the over seven crore hectares of land belonging to the Catholic Church.

He contended that according to the RSS, the church property was illegally leased during the British era.

Satheesan claimed that the RSS demand in the article came on the same day when the Waqf Bill was passed in the Parliament.

"We warned that if the Waqf Bill is passed, the Church Bill will follow," he added.

The opposition leader said that such actions indicate that while the Sangh Parivar was trying to appease Christians in Kerala, it was attacking them in the rest of the country.

He expressed hope that the Christians will recognise them as "wolves in sheep's clothing".