With Assembly elections just months away, the Kerala government’s claims about implementing recommendations of the Justice J B Koshy Commission on Christian welfare have triggered sharp criticism from the Catholic Church and opposition parties.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on January 8 that the government had completed action on 220 of the commission’s 329 recommendations across 17 departments. He said seven more proposals were being prepared for Cabinet consideration and scheduled a stakeholders’ meeting for February 6 to address remaining issues.
The commission, appointed in November 2020, had submitted its report in May 2023 after examining 4.87 lakh representations from churches and organisations. The report contained 284 main recommendations and 45 sub-recommendations covering education, employment, reservation policy and welfare measures for different sections of the Christian community.
However, the government has not released the report publicly despite repeated demands over more than two years. A petition seeking its release is pending before the Kerala High Court.
Church leaders have questioned how 220 recommendations could be implemented without any visible outcomes or public disclosure. Father Thomas Tharayil, spokesperson of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, asked which recommendations had been accepted, rejected or implemented.
Deepika, the Catholic Church-run daily, published a sharp editorial on January 9 accusing the Chief Minister of treating Christians as “gullible” by claiming silent implementation. “The recommendations of the JB Koshy Commission report were implemented without any Christian knowing about it,” the editorial said, adding that the community had been unable to find any benefits despite efforts.
The editorial questioned whether the government feared public debate or whether the implementation claims were false. It said while the commission was presented as a welfare measure before the last election, withholding the report while claiming implementation ahead of the next election “shows signs of control”.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council said in a social media post that despite the Chief Minister’s words, “there is no sign or result within the Christian community of any recommendations from the JB Koshy Commission report being implemented”.
The commission’s key recommendations included increasing reservation for backward Christians from four percent to six percent, granting Scheduled Caste benefits to Dalit Christians, special recruitment measures, converting some government quota seats in medical colleges to community seats, and setting up committees to examine representation in government jobs.
As recently as February 2025, Minority Welfare Minister V Abdurahiman had told the Assembly that recommendations were still under examination and a final version had not been submitted to Cabinet. Similar replies were given in October 2024, describing the process as being at the review stage, not implementation.
BJP state vice-president Shaun George accused the government of selective action, noting that the Paloli Muhammad Kutty report on Muslim minorities was implemented quickly while the Koshy report remained unpublished. He said RTI requests for the report drew vague replies.
The controversy has emerged as the ruling Left Democratic Front tries to retain support in central Kerala constituencies with significant Christian populations. The LDF suffered losses in these regions during recent local body polls, and its ally Kerala Congress (M) is facing internal pressure.
Church organisations have said they are not seeking “backdoor benefits” but want transparency and informed dialogue. Until the full report and item-wise action details are made public, they warn, the government’s claims will be seen as election-time rhetoric.
The Kerala Latin Catholic Association has announced public conventions in all 140 constituencies demanding publication and implementation of the report’s recommendations.
