Bail for nuns a feather in the political cap of BJP and Rajeev?

While the incident is expected to function as a catalyst in BJP's Christian outreach, many Sangh groups feel that party failed to protect Hindu masses' sentiments

- KS SREEJITH @T'Puram

THE release of the two Catholic nuns after nine days of imprisonment in Chhattisgarh has come as a relief for both the Church and the state BJP. The fact that it was realised following the intervention of the prime minister's office (PMO) is being viewed as a feather in party state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar's political cap.

TNIE was the first to report the PMO's intervention. The entire episode is now expected to function as a catalyst in Rajeev's efforts to intensify his party's Christian outreach programme in central Kerala in the coming days.

For the Catholic Church, with its larger interest in the pan-Indian socio-political sphere, it has reiterated the need for friends in high places, especially in times of crises. "In that sense the whole episode has been a give-and-take," a Church official told on condition of anonymity.

If the mission had failed it would have cast a shadow on Rajeev. It ended up proving his close ties to the corridors of power in Delhi.