The statement of one individual cannot be considered the stand of the Christian community, CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan said here on Monday while reacting to Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany’s comment that rubber growers would back the BJP in Kerala if it raises the floor price of rubber.
Mr. Govindan, participating in a meet-the-press organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club, said the responsibility for the crashing rubber prices lay with the Central government.
He drew attention to the incidents of violence against Christians reported from different parts of the country. Seventy-nine Christian organisations had taken part in the protests in New Delhi against atrocities against the community, he said citing 598 incidents of violence against Christians in 21 States.
On the stand-off between the ruling and Opposition fronts in the Assembly, Mr. Govindan accused the Congress of causing discord in the House. The United Democratic Front stand was prompted by a dearth of relevant topics and in-fighting within the Congress. Mr. Govindan denied that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was not taking the initiative to end the stand-off.
Commenting on the SilverLine project, he said the opposition to the semi-high-speed rail project stunts 50 years of development for the State. Reiterating the government stand that the project is environment-friendly, he said national highway development too had faced similar objections at the outset and these were quelled by adequate compensation packages.
On the recent debates over the Muslim personal law, Mr. Govindan said decisions regarding it should be left to the Muslim community. To a question on the CPI(M) stand on a Uniform Civil Code, he said that the party cannot support it at present.