Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has flayed a pastoral letter read in some churches of the Quilon diocese against the southern Indian state’s Left Democratic Front government.

The sanctity of the pastoral letters will be questioned by devotees, the chief minister said March 26.

They (a section of church leadership) are attacking the government just like the opposition, he said. The allegations raised by them are not their own, Pinarayi said.

The Latin diocese on March 21 targeted the Kerala and the federal governments, claiming there was an “organized effort” to destroy the fishing sector and sell it to corporates.

State Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma accused the Church of speaking for the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front.

Kerala will go to polls on April 6 to elect its 140-member legislative assembly and the major contenders are LDF and UDF.

The pastoral letter, targeting the LDF government, said “the controversial agreement with a foreign company, EMCC, was withdrawn following widespread opposition.”

The fishing community should also be aware of “Blue Economy” project, a move by the central government giving permission for mining for resources from the sea, it said.

Reacting to the letter, Mercykutty Amma, the LDF candidate from Kundara in the coastal Kollam district, sought to know why the Church was speaking for the opposition Congress-led UDF. She said many faithful had called her up.

“For whom has the Church come out with such a letter? Why should the Church speak for the UDF?” the Minister asked.

The Church letter alleged attempts were being made to destroy the fishing sector in the name of tourism and the governments have already completed the process for many similar legislations affecting the livelihoods of fishermen.

Joining issue, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala accused the federal and the state government of taking steps to “sell the ocean” which will affect the livelihood of the fishing folk. “The UDF is always with the fishermen. It was the intervention of the opposition that stopped the deep sea fishing from being sold to corporates,” he said, referring to the state government cancelling two Memorandums of Understanding with the EMCC after the UDF raised various allegations.

“The UDF assures that once the we come to power, we will take steps to address the concerns of the Kollam Bishop,” he added.

Source: The Times of India