CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan triggered a fresh war of words with the Church after he targeted Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany, saying his stand smacked of fascism. The Church has now hit back at the Marxist leader.
Published Aug 14, 2025 | 2:00 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 14, 2025 | 2:00 PM
The Archdiocese of Thalassery issued a bitter statement targeting CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan (Right) after his comments against Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany.
Synopsis: Despite the recent attacks on Christians and missionaries in the country, the Church in Kerala seems to be inching closer to the ‘lesser evil’ BJP. The reason: They want the lesser evil.
In his The Everlasting Man, English author and Christian apologist GK Chesterton made an interesting observation about the Shepherds, the Three Wise Men, and King Herod.
The Shepherds represent the human nature that requires images — adventures of imagination that are tempting and tantalising. The Three Wise Men stand for another aspect of human nature that seeks the truth, not tales.
Together, the Shepherds and the Three Wise Men make the incomplete complete.
Coming to King Herod, Chesterton wrote, “…there was a third element that must not be ignored and one which that religion forever refuses to ignore, in any revel or reconciliation.”
For Chesterton, “Bethlehem is emphatically a place where extremes meet.” The Shepherds, the Three Wise Men, and King Herod represented the extremes.
Matthew 2:16 details the nature of Herod. Outwitted by the Magi, a furious Herod ordered the killing of all male children in Bethlehem, “who were two years old or under”.
Chesterton might have come up with a witty observation about present-day political Kerala — where the tale seems to have twisted into something unprecedented — and the state’s Shepherds, Wise Men, and King Herod.
The Archdiocese of Thalassery issued a bitter statement, targeting CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan. The provocation was the Marxist leader’s comments against Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany.
Mar Joseph Pamplany, the Archbishop of Thalassery. (Wikimedia Commons)
Inaugurating the NGO Union’s Thaliparamba Area Centre, Govindan said “opportunistic” Pamplany’s stance smacked of fascism. The Archdiocese felt that Govindan implied that the Church should seek advice from the AKG Centre, the CPI(M)’s state headquarters, before making public statements.
Refuting the charge that Pamplany had changed his stance after two Malayali nuns were granted bail by an NIA court in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur on 2 August. Sisters Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate congregation were arrested on 25 July at Durg railway station, after Bajrang Dal activists accused them of human trafficking and forcible religious conversion.
The Archdiocese said Pamplany has not changed. His view is that the government’s anti-minority actions must be opposed.
Incidentally, Govindan’s comments came as the Church leaders were profoundly thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other BJP leaders for facilitating the nuns’ bail. In a display of gratitude, a section of Church leaders went to Mararji Bhavan, the BJP’s state committee office in Thiruvananthapuram, with a cake in hand.
The BJP has wholeheartedly taken the cake and seems to be eating it too!
Pamplany showering gratitude, and the cake episode seemed to have got Govindan’s goat. The CPI(M) has seen the nuns’ arrest as an opportunity to target the Sangh Parivar in general and the BJP in particular.
Soon after the nuns were granted bail, a section of Church leaders visited the Mararji Bhavan in the state capital with a cake to thank the BJP.
Accusing Pamplany of being “opportunistic,” Govindan said, “When nuns were arrested in Chhattisgarh, he opposed the BJP. When bail came, he praised Amit Shah. Priests even went with a cake. With such mood swings, neither Christians, Muslims, nor Communists will be saved,” he said, hyphenating the latter with the minorities.
The Church said Pamplany had strongly criticised the Centre’s ”unconstitutional” role in the Chhattisgarh arrests, but later thanked it for helping secure the nuns’ release, a well-thought-out approach meant to prevent communal polarisation.
The Archdiocese also pointed out that Pamplany had appreciated Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s intervention, along with efforts by the Congress and CPI(M) MP John Brittas.
The Kerala Catholic Congress also slammed Govindan. Global Committee director Fr. Philip Kaviyil termed the comments thoughtless and reminded Govindan of his predecessor, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The cleric warned against statements that could affect the party’s chances of securing a third-term Pinarayi government — a clear warning to the CPI(M) ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Kerala nuns were arrested in Chhattisgarh — a headline that shocked the state’s Christian community, even though priests have faced pre- and post-poll attacks in several northern states, including the recent one in Jaleswar, Odisha.
Sister Vandana Francis from Thalassery and Sister Preethi Mary from Angamaly, who were arrested in Chhattisgarh.
Both Congress and CPI(M) believed that the goodwill the BJP had built among Kerala Christians had been wiped out by the arrests. In a rare remark hinting at cooperation with the Sangh Parivar, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church head Baselios Marthoma Mathews III said that simultaneous appeasement and persecution conflicted with each other.
Alarmed, the BJP’s state leadership rushed to engage with top clergy, even as both LDF and UDF protested the arrest inside and outside Parliament.
Soon after the nuns were granted bail, a section of the Church leaders, including Bishop Mathews Mor Silvanos (Believers Eastern Church), George Sebastian (ACTS General Secretary), Sajan Velur (Mar Thoma Church), Rev. Sherin Das (CSI), Lt. Col. Saju Daniel, Lt. Col. Sneha Deepam (Salvation Army), Dennis Jacob (KMF Pentecostal Church), Rev. B.T. Varughese, and Rev. Yesudas, rushed to Mararji Bhavan in the state capital with a cake to thank the BJP, a move that surprised not only Congress and the CPI(M), but also sections of priests, believers, and ordinary people who supported the nuns.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar later posted on X: “Met Christian community representatives who visited Mararji Bhavan with a cake, expressing joy over the BJP’s role in securing bail for the Chhattisgarh nuns.”
The key question, however, remained. Did the BJP play any role in securing bail for the nuns? Political sources and lawyers involved in the case answered in the negative.
CPI(M) spokesperson and Kottayam district secretary Advocate K Anilkumar told South First that the decisive factor was the courageous stand of the young women who were with the nuns.
”They stood up fearlessly against the Bajrang Dal and spoke in support of the nuns,” he said.
He added that his party’s ally CPI continued to protect the girls and their families from the Sangh Parivar. Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh, he pointed out, has long been a communist stronghold.
When South First contacted sources in Narayanpur, which, according to Anoop Antony, the Kerala BJP state general secretary, is a ”grey zone” with strong Maoist influence. Sources said Phulsingh Kachlam, a CPI leader in Narayanpur, has arranged security for the women and their families.
Despite protests against fascism, the Kerala BJP continues to enjoy strong support from Christians, particularly in Thrissur.
Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi.
Even amid allegations of widespread vote theft and the potential setback following the nuns’ arrest, leaders like Suresh Gopi still maintain close ties with the top church leadership.
When South First contacted A Nagesh, the strategist of Thrissur BJP and the party’s state general secretary, he said nothing lasts in Kerala.
”Nothing in Kerala lasts for too long. The nuns’ arrest and the controversies stirred up by the CPI(M) and Congress will fade well before the elections. We have strong ties with the Christian leadership here, especially the Syrian Christians. Sobha Surendran and I personally visited Sister Preethi Mary’s home after her arrest in Chhattisgarh, and the family was very welcoming,” he said.
He expressed confidence in continuing to enjoy the Christian support. “The ground support for the BJP in Thrissur is beyond what you can imagine,” he said.
Nagesh said the BJP, if tried enough, could win Chelakkara, Kodungalloor, and Guruvayur assembly constituencies and even secure the Kunnamkulam local body.”
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” — James 1:26.
Meanwhile, in an apparent wordplay, a cleric likened Govindan to Govindachamy, a rape and murder convict undergoing life imprisonment.
Father Kaviyil Philip, global director of the Catholic Congress and member, Pastoral Council, Archdiocese of Thalassery, said on Tuesday, 12 August, that Govindan “should not speak like Govindachamy”.
Dissident priest Fr Aji Puthiyaparambil condemned Fr Philip, saying his remark was unbecoming of the position he holds. The rebel priest further demanded Fr Philip to withdraw the statement and offer an apology
When South First contacted Fr. Cyriac Thundiyil, former Principal of Christ Nagar School, said, the UDF cannot control the CPI(M).
“Only the BJP can stand up to CPI(M) goons from DYFI, SFI, and CITU. Our support for the BJP is not from a religious perspective but purely a political one,” he asserted.
Fr. Thundiyil denied the allegation that the Church fears central agencies because of foreign funding. “It is an old story. No Christian institution in Kerala today enjoys unlimited foreign funds. We built our institutions by pawning our assets,” he cited a ₹30 crore loan availed from the Federal Bank to start an engineering college at Punnapra.
He signed off with a strong statement. “We will choose the lesser evil in Kerala — and that is the BJP!”
The blessing is clear and thought-provoking: Is it a prelude to the meeting of extremes in Kerala, and make the lotus bloom on rubber trees, ubiquitous in the state’s Christian heartland? Or will it make the incomplete complete? The wait continues.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
