VHP workers' Palakkad act deals a setback to BJP's Christian outreach

While state BJP had started its programme ahead of Xmas, fear has set among Christians

- K S SREEJITH @T'Puram

COMING as it did amidst Christian outreach programmes, the arrest of three Sangh parivar workers for having attempted to disrupt the Christmas celebration at a school in Palakkad has come as a setback for the BJP in Kerala.

Compounding matters for the party, the incident was reported at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attending the Christmas celebration hosted by the Catholic in New Delhi on Monday.

According to a top source in the BJP, the party's central leadership had asked Union Minister George Kurian and state BJP president K Surendran to openly condemn the act of the three Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers.