Mar Joseph Pamplani, Archbishop of the Thalassery archdiocese, has said that the Christian community in Kerala is not only a “vote bank”, but also will not hesitate to launch a political party, if necessary.

He was opening a protest march and public meeting organised by the Thamarassery diocese unit of the All Kerala Catholic Congress and other organisations, against the alleged government neglect and injustice, here on Saturday. He alleged that successive governments had been neglecting the Christian community deliberately.

Mar Remigios Inchananiyil, bishop of the Thamarassery diocese, said that the Catholic Church was seriously contemplating launching a political party. Though there were various opinions within the Church related to it, they would be addressed through talks. He claimed that around 1,500 people were killed in wild animal attacks in the State in the last 10 years. The lives of farmers had become difficult. People were in hardship since laws are not updated in tune with present realities. It was in this context that a fight for rights had become necessary. The existing political parties were not protecting the rights of the people, he alleged.

The meeting sought the implementation of 19 demands, including publishing the report of the J.B. Koshy committee that studied the backwardness of the community.