Political party resort to ‘Passion’ to woo voters; Christians protest strongly

Mumbai – With the state elections in Maharashtra just round the corner, many political parties are taking recourse to dubious means to woo and garner votes for their contestants – the most shocking of them all are the Hindu right–wing parties Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that are using Christian symbols and imagery in their election campaigns.

Incidentally, both these parties have been inspired by Hindutva ideology and have been found to be involved, directly or indirectly, in instigating communal hatred and sectarian violence.

However, the Janata Dal (JD) party has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of Mumbai to protest against this abuse of Christian symbols by two political formations.

The BJP and allied Shiv Sena have been distributing a poster–calendar that has images of Christ from the film The Passion. Their candidate is quoted on the calendar for having said that he would not like to be like Pontius Pilate, who washed his hands of Jesus’ crucifixion.

After their recent debacle in the recent General Elections held in April, the right–winged Shiv Sean and BJP are now wooing the minority Christians for the seat in Vasai, a town north of Mumbai, home to around 80,000 Christian voters: the use of images of Christ in their campaign will doubtlessly carry weight with them.

Social activists have joined the JD in protesting against the inappropriate use of religion in the elections. In a statement they said it was surprising that the Sena, which never speaks out against attacks on minority communities, should use a calendar showing Christ on his way to his crucifixion, during election time.
Christians, too, have been in the forefront in making their displeasure clear.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) have strongly objected to the use of religious symbols for political mileage. Voicing "a serious objection" to the display of scenes from Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," Rev Percival Fernandez, Secretary General, CBCI & Aux. Bishop of Mumbai said that “the use of picture of the Passion of Christ to woo voters is against the very ethos of Christianity.”

“We are dismayed at the fact that a certain political party is using the poster of the Passion of Christ for campaigning in the coming assembly elections in Maharashtra. We totally disapprove of such an act and ask the concerned people to stop forthwith the use of pictures of Christ and other religious symbols in advertisements and posters relating to elections,” he said.

“The burning issues of poverty, illiteracy, social development and upliftment of the poor tribals and downtrodden should have been the areas of concern for any political party instead of using the religious symbols for the sake of garnering votes,” the Reverend said. “The principles of democracy demand that we respect the religious sentiments of each individual while campaigning in elections. The use of poster of the Passion of Christ for political purpose is a total disrespect to the feelings of Christian Community in the country and it must be taken off immediately.”

Rev. Fernandez also appealed to all political parties to respect the religious sentiments of all people by keeping religion out of the political field.

The Bishop of Vasai, Rev. Thomas Dabre, had already voiced his concerns on rising fundamentalism and persecution against Christians, during the General Elections of May 2004.

Shiv Sena is known for supporting the supremacy of the Marathi ethnic group in the state of Maharashtra. It is this group in fact that changed the name of Bombay to Mumbai in 1999, to underscore the ethnic character of this great Indian city. Its leader, Bal Thackeray, is known for his unconcealed admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Vivek Pandit of Shiv Sena, who will be contesting from Vasai constituency had put up posters and distributed pamphlets depicting scenes from the internationally known film and using Biblical quotes. Christians make up about one–sixth of the total strength of eligible voters in the Vasai.

Vasai is in Maharashtra state, which goes to the polls on Oct. 13 to elect a new 288–seat state legislative assembly. Shiv Sena and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP) have formed a united front for the election. The Congress party, which heads the central coalition government, currently controls the state government.

One of Pandit’s posters says, "Jesus is crucified again and again," adding that "innocent" people suffer social injustice and it is time to ask why.

Another poster reads: "Pandit would not like to be like Pontius Pilate, who washed the blood of Jesus off his hands with water. We have to take a decision on whether we want Barabbas or the innocent Jesus."

These and other campaign materials featuring "The Passion" and Biblical quotes constitute a misuse of religion, many Christians say.

"Religion should not be used for petty political games and (to) garner votes. The message of Christ hanging from the cross is of service, not power and position," Father Francis D'Britto, spokesperson of Vasai diocese, announced recently.

Abraham Mathai, Maharashtra State Minority Commission vice president, and Gen–Secy. of All India Christian Council also commented that Pandit was "misusing" Christianity and thus violating the election code of conduct imposed by the Election Commission of India.

However, Pandit has taken all these protests in a lighter vein. Expressing that he had no intention of hurting the religious sentiments of the Christians, he said, “I do not see anything wrong in spreading the good message of the Bible in a predominantly Christian area," he said.

Though, some Catholics in Vasai, like Shaver Rodrigues, chairman of Town Development Cooperative Society say the campaign will backfire and that “every Christian here knows Shiv Sena is a communal party propagating Hindutva," others, like Francis Rodrigues, secretary of the Diocesan Christian Workers' Movement, take a lighter view of the unusual election strategy. Seeing "nothing wrong" in Pandit's use of Biblical messages and "The Passion" as long as the politician does not criticize Christianity, he said, "In a way, it spreads the message of Christ among the Hindus by a Hindu, and nobody should (object).”

Father D'Britto said the Church has used the diocesan monthly "Suvarta" (good news) to ask Christian voters to choose a secular candidate. However, Christians do not have much of a choice, he lamented.

He explained that the incumbent legislator, who has won three consecutive five–year terms as an independent candidate, is considered by many a "terror and criminal" and has several police cases against him. The Congress party is backing him in the current election.

Surojit Chatterjee
(surojit.chatterjee@christiantoday.co.in)