Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, is vociferous in his condemnation of corruption in public life. However, this did not hinder him from expressing his deep friendship with a Bishop of the CSI Church, who is accused in 12 cheating cases.
Pictures of the Chief Minister hugging the bishop, Dharmaraj Rasalam, after the latter was elected as Moderator of the CSI Church. Pictures of Pinarayi Vijayan, hugging the tainted bishop was also published in many media.
Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam is charged with non-bailable cases of conspiracy, cheating, forgery, fraudulence, etc. He is the main accused in the cases that are registered at Vallarada, Neyyatinkkara, and museum police stations. The police have charged him under IPC sections 34, 120 B, 420, 468, 378, and 380.
The Bishop is involved in a cheating case in which he collected money with the promise of giving seats at the CSI Church owned Karakonnam Medical College.
In addition, the Chairman of the State Admission and Supervisory Committee for Medical Education, Retd. Judge R. Rajendra Babu had asked the government to take case against Bishop Rasalam for cheating 24 Medical students with the promise of giving seats.
However, the communist government has not initiated any criminal proceedings against the bishop. Political experts believe that the main reason for this is vote bank politics because the CSI Church enjoys a strong vote share in Thiruvananthapuram.
The photo of the Chief Minister with the Bishop is also a message to the Kerala Police. When the accused is hugged by the Chief Minister, who also handles the Home Ministry portfolio, no police officer would dare to move against the tainted bishop.
