Express News Service By

KOTTAYAM: Lambasting inter-caste marriages, Idukki Bishop Mar Mathew Anikkuzhikkattil on Saturday stirred a hornet’s nest by saying incidents of Christian girls falling victims to ‘Love Jihad’ and the dubious agenda of the SNDP were on the rise.

Inaugurating the pastoral council meeting of the Kanjirappally diocese here, the bishop called for vigilance against such moves. According to him, inter-caste marriages were against Christianity which should be discouraged.

“Inter-caste marriages will spoil the purity and characteristics of Christianity. Even if the government promotes such marriages, we should take care and discourage such tendencies,” he said.

He also alleged that Christian girls were being wooed and kidnapped by means of Love Jihad and the hidden agenda of (people belonging to) the SNDP. “Our girls are not hesitant to renounce Christian beliefs and leave their parents who brought them up while going with a Muslim or an SNDP member. This is because of the lack of a strong belief in Christianity. We should address this issue with utmost seriousness,” he said.

According to Anikkuzhikkattil, six out of every 100 marriages in a diocese are inter-caste marriages. He also alleged that inter-caste marriages were behind the increasing number of divorce cases.

“As many as 5,000 divorces took place last year. It seems the state is adopting the European model. The western wind is blowing into Kerala as well,” Mar Mathew Anikkuzhikkattil said.