Catholic priest joins saffron camp in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala unit of the BJP on Monday got a prize catch after 62-year-old Catholic priest, Rev Kuriakose Mattem, the vicar of the St Thomas Catholic Church in Idukki district, joined the saffron party.

Speaking to IANS, BJP’s Idukki district President K.S. Aji said the party is presently running a membership campaign.

“After we came to know that Rev Kuriakose Mattem was interested in joining our party, we went and met him and he agreed that he would take party membership which has been given,” said Aji.

“Rev Kuriakose Mattem is of the opinion that there is a wrong impression about the BJP, as many things are not correctly presented,” Aji said.

“ I don’t agree to the common belief that the BJP is not the party for Christians,” said Mattem. In Kerala, Christians constitute about 18 per cent of the state’s 3.30 crore population.