While Cleemis did not mention the BJP directly, his remarks came at a time when the party’s Kerala unit is intensifying efforts to woo the Christian community ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.

Reacting to BJP Kerala chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s statement rejecting the allegations against the nuns, the Cardinal said the leader himself had clarified that the charges of forced conversion and trafficking were baseless.

“There is no need for further explanation,” he added.

Cleemis urged all political parties to rise above their affiliations and speak out in support of the nuns, calling for their freedom and constitutional rights to be upheld.

He also thanked Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty for visiting him and expressing the state government’s support.

After the meeting, Sivankutty told reporters that the BJP’s claims of minority outreach were “hypocritical”.

He criticised union ministers from Kerala for “maintaining silence on the issue” and called it “dangerous and disappointing.”

“If they’re targeting nuns today, priests could be next,” the minister alleged, accusing BJP leaders of “wearing a mask.”

The arrest of the two Kerala-based Catholic nuns in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh has triggered a political row, with the Congress and CPI(M) strongly criticising the move.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, however, accused the opposition of “politicising the matter.