The Kerala units of the Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in a heated exchange over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with Pope Francis during the G7 Summit. The controversy began when the Congress’ Kerala unit posted a picture of PM Modi with the Pope on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, accompanied by a sarcastic remark: “Finally, the Pope got a chance to meet God!”
The BJP swiftly responded, accusing the Congress of disrespect and religious insensitivity. BJP state chief K Surendran took to X, alleging that the Congress’ social media handle was operated by “radical Islamists or Urban Naxals.” Surendran further questioned whether party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi endorsed the contentious post.
“The @INCIndia Kerala ‘X’ handle, seemingly run by radical Islamists or Urban Naxals, continues to post derogatory and humiliating content against nationalistic leaders. Now, it has even stooped to mocking the respected Pope and the Christian community,” Surendran posted. He also implicated AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal in the controversy, asking, “The question is, what are @RahulGandhi and @kharge’s interests in supporting this?”
Union Minister and BJP leader George Kurian joined the criticism, stating, “This tweet by the Congress equates Prime Minister Modi to Lord Jesus. This is absolutely uncalled for and is an insult to the Christian community, who revere Jesus. It is shameful that Congress has stooped to this level.”
In a rebuttal, the Congress Kerala unit posted another sarcastic reply, wishing “better luck next time” to Surendran and his BJP colleagues. The post quoted Pope Francis, who, during his meeting with Modi, said, “When you manage to make intelligent smiles gush from the lips of even one spectator, you make even God smile.”
The Congress later released a detailed statement clarifying that it was not the party’s tradition to insult any religion or religious figures. The statement emphasized, “No Congress worker would even entertain the remotest thought of insulting the Pope, whom Christians around the world see as God-like. However, the Congress has no qualms about mocking Narendra Modi, who insults the believers of this country by calling himself God.”
The statement also accused Surendran and his colleagues of attempting to portray the mocking of Modi as an insult to the Pope, thereby spreading communal tensions. “If there is genuine love for the Christian community, then Modi and his cohorts who remained silent when their temples were burnt down in Manipur should first unconditionally apologize to the Christian community,” the Congress added, while expressing regret if their post caused any distress to Christians.
The controversy adds to the ongoing political tensions as parties gear up for upcoming elections. During the G7 Summit, Prime Minister Modi had invited Pope Francis to visit India, highlighting his admiration for the pontiff’s commitment to serving the people. The meeting was marked by a warm embrace and discussions on critical global issues including Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean.
