Everyone knows the Congress is at war with itself. The impression being given is that the younger generation, which is rearing to take over and steer the ship, is at loggerheads with the old guard which believes it isn’t down and out. This infighting and inability to consolidate and put up a united front has not gone unnoticed by church leaders who have virtually written off the Congress. If the party does not wake up now, it never will.
The support of the church was taken for granted in 2012. With Narendra Modi unable to control the fringe elements, who have been running amok in other parts of the country, the church made a decisive turn against the BJP and the Congress took it for granted that a vote against the ruling party would automatically mean a vote in its favour. That is not the case as church leaders made it very clear that the Congress is not a viable alternative and the only option at this moment is to advise the faithful to vote for candidates of character.
For all the accusations made against the church by those who seldom understand its internal workings, motivations and compulsion to guide the flock, the crossroads at which it finds itself reflects the reality on the ground. Church leaders have correctly gauged the political situation and though a final decision is a long way off, the direction in which it is moving is being dictated by debate, discussion and hard facts.
While the Congress continues to fight, a more serious challenge that faces the church is the overtly communal stance taken by the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) and its demand for withdrawal of grants to primary schools run by the Diocesan Society of Education. This is the single largest challenge that the church is facing as Goa enters an election year. It has to protect the interests of the students from ideologues who are hell bent on forcing their view of the world on everyone else. The BJP government has stood firm in its support of its decision to give grants to minority run schools even at the cost of taking on its mentor, the RSS. No BJP government would have gone to this extent to defend the minority community.
The church is definitely aware of this situation, but also needs to seriously consider the communal politics of the BBSM which will divide the State along religious lines to achieve a goal, which is out of sync with the present and goes against the democratic principle of empowering parents. Any move to confront the BBSM could result in reverse polarization, a situation that would suit both the BBSM and the RSS but rent the social fabric of the State.
Although all church leaders might not openly admit it, the fact is the present constitution of the BJP legislative party represents a perfect balance of communities. This has prompted the party to deal with all communities on an equal footing. While issues of governance remain, the points that the church will have to consider at the time of analysing the data and incorporating differing points of view, is the State government’s smooth resolution of the beef issue and the withdrawal of criminal cases against priests and people in Velim. For the BJP leaders, this is the right time to take advantage of the mess that the Congress has created for itself and engage with church leaders.
