The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) has said that while it welcomes BJP chief Amit Shah’s attempts to reach out to the Christians in the state, it couldn't agree with the party’s “basic ideology”.

After the Centre banned the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets, the KCBC said it couldn’t accept a government that dictates what people should consume. 

While calling Shah a “prominent leader”, KCBC president Susa Pakiam said the bishops had a warm meeting with Shah last week.

"We did not discuss politics. We had a friendly discussion on minorities and their rights. He said the government is 100 per cent committed to protecting the constitutional rights of minorities,” Pakiam said.

Pakiam added that they will never accept a dictum on what they should eat or a government that dictates it. The BJP government may try to impose their dictum as they are mighty but for us, the Constitution is big and such decrees don’t matter.

While speaking to reporters in Kochi, Pakiam said that rights of minorities were being violated in north India.

The KCBC chief said that while they are “dealing with openness”, they (Catholic Church) were not ready to accept the BJP’s basic ideology.

During his three-day visit to Kerala recently, Amit Shah had met with leaders of Christian dioceses including Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar and Latin Catholic churches in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.