In an attempt to end the row sparked by Pala Bishop's 'narcotic jihad,' remarks, religious leaders in Kerala came together on Monday, September 20, for discussions to uphold the secular unity of the state and to check divisive forces. Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholics initiated the congregation of leaders that was held in Thiruvananthapuram. The Hindu reported that leaders representing various sects and denominations attended the meeting. Muslim Youth League State President Panakkad Syed Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal Kozhikode Palayam Imam Hussain Madavoor, Kerala Muslim Jamaat president Karamana Bayar, Thiruvananthapuram Latin Archbishop M Soosa Pakiam, Thiruvananthapuram Palayam Imam VP Suhaib Moulavi and Santhigiri Ashram general secretary Swami Gururetnam Jnana Thapaswi attended the meeting. The meeting lasted for two hours.
Cardinal Cleemis, while meeting the media persons after the meeting, said that the discussions primarily focussed on strengthening communal harmony. Cardinal Cleemis also said that the Pala Bishop's statement was not the prime agenda though the meeting was organised in that context. "Narcotics must be viewed as narcotics alone," he said.
The religious heads called for inter-religious harmony at the local level and also restraint, especially among religious and spiritual leaders. Munavvar Ali said that the Pala Bishop's statements were not condemned or justified in the meeting and that a strong need was felt to address divisive efforts being made in the grassroots level as well as on the social media to disrupt social harmony in the state.
Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt had said that Christian women are falling prey to 'love jihad' and 'narcotic jihad' and that non-Muslims are subjected to narcotic-jihad. Narcotic-Jihad, he claimed, was spoiling the life of non-Muslims particularly young people, by making them addicted to drugs. His remarks were slammed for lacking evidence and for its blatant Islamophobia, with many stating that it would create a communal divide and threaten the secular fabric of the state.
The government was also slammed for taking a soft stand on the Bishop with even CPI(M) Minister VM Vasavan visiting the Bishop at his residence in Pala of the Kottayam district.