Buddhadeb lauds Christian missionaries' contribution to education

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's praise on Christian missionaries role in the field of Education, has impressed Church leaders, who thanked him for his acknowledgements.

While warding off a few questions, which compared West Bengal's educational standards to that of Kerala, the Communist Party leader underlined the role of Church in the state's educational achievements.

Church leaders, specially the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India (CBCI), openly thanked the Bengal Chief Minister for defending the Christians on its contributions in the country.

“We are grateful to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for finally acknowledging our contribution towards the society. He was really generous in accepting our role though his party in Kerala has always denied us our due credit,” said CBCI spokesperson Fr Babu Joseph.

According to Fr Joseph, Bhattacharjee has taken a huge risk by defying the decade–long party stand, which had given all credits to the EMS Government (first Communist Govt. under E M S Namboodiripad).

Apparently, the CPM leaders in Kerala are not happy that the comment has come at a time when the relation between the Church and the Communist Party is low.

“How can he give away the credit to the Church just like that while everyone knows that it was the historic steps taken by our first Government that is behind the state’s progress card,” questioned a Central Committee member from the state

Lately, the Left Government’s attempts to control the minority–run educational institutions in Kerala, has seriously strained its relationship with the Church.

Last month, a church–run institution in Thrivulla, Kerala, was attacked by the student’s wing of the party. Property worth about Rs 1.5 million was damaged in the assault.

Archbishop Thomas Koorilos of Thiruvalla described the attack as another instance of an "organised move by the CPI–M led Left Democratic Front government and its feeder organisations, to tarnish the image of the educational institutions run by the minority communities."