Congress’s satire on PM Modi’s tete-a-tete with Pope Francis acquires a political edge in Kerala

An attempt by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee social media handlers to play a satire on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile tête-à-tête with Pope Francis on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy seemed to have acquired a political edge in Kerala

An attempt by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) ‘s social media handlers to play a satire on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile tête-à-tête with Pope Francis on the sidelines of the G 7 summit in Italy seemed to have acquired a political edge in Kerala.

The Congress Kerala’s @INCKerala handle sought to play on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s nerves by posting a picture of the Pope with Mr Modi on X. It captioned the photo, “Finally, the Pope got a chance to meet God.”

The Congress had framed the post as a witty and light-hearted dig at Mr Modi’s controversial claim that his birth had a divine purpose.

However, the political lampoon that went viral on social media gave sensational grist to BJP troll farms to target Congress.

BJP State President K Surendran alleged on X that radical Islamists or Urban Naxals controlled the KPCC’s social media handles. He said posting “derogatory and humiliating content against nationalistic leaders” was their lot. He said Congress had “stooped to mocking the Respected Pope and the Christian community”.

A seemingly chastened Congress promptly withdrew the post and apologised to Christians. It seemed not lost on the party that a perceived rightward drift in Christian votes had purportedly propped the fortunes of the BJP in Kerala and delivered it a stunning victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency represented by Union Minister of State for Tourism, Suresh Gopi.

Congress, sensing that it could get its fingers burned, clarified that the post was a critical take on Mr Modi’s claim that his birth had a divine purpose and not an insult to the Pope or the Christian community as construed by the BJP.