Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress party in Kerala issued an apology on Monday to the Christian community, a day after a controversial social media post mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Pope Francis sparked a political uproar in the state. The party also removed the post from its official Twitter handle.

In a new post on its Twitter handle, the state unit of the Congress party offered an unconditional apology to the Christian faithful if its previous post had caused any "emotional or psychological distress."

The party clarified in the post that it is not the tradition of the Indian National Congress to insult or disparage any religion, religious priests, or idols. It emphasized that no Congress worker would entertain any thought of insulting the Pope, whom Christians around the world revere.

However, the post did not hesitate to criticize PM Narendra Modi, accusing him of insulting the faithful of the country by portraying himself as god-like.

The Congress party's statement suggested that BJP state chief K Surendran and others are communal-minded, trying to twist the Congress' criticism of Modi's "shameless political games" into an insult to the Pope.

Responding to Surendran and other BJP leaders who criticized the Congress over the issue, the party accused them of attempting to belittle Christians and spreading communal venom.

"If there is genuine concern for the Christian community, then Modi and his cohorts, who remained silent when their churches were burned down in Manipur, should apologize unconditionally to the Christians first," the party added.

On Sunday, the BJP in Kerala had slammed the Congress over its social media post on Modi's meeting with Pope Francis during the G7 Summit, suggesting that the Congress' Twitter handle was managed by "radical Islamists or Urban Naxals."

The controversy erupted when the Congress had earlier posted a picture of PM Modi with the Pope on its Twitter handle with a sarcastic comment: "Finally, the Pope got a chance to meet God!"

Following the backlash, BJP state chief Surendran accused the Congress' state unit of posting derogatory and humiliating content against nationalistic leaders.

He further alleged that AICC general secretary K C Venugopal was aware of the post and questioned whether party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi endorsed it.

In response to Surendran's criticism, the Congress again took a sarcastic jibe at him through its Twitter handle, wishing "better luck next time" to Surendran and others from "Modi ka parivar."

"Better luck next time, @surendranbjp, @Georgekurianbjp and others from Modi ka parivar!" the Congress in Kerala said in its post.

During the Outreach session of the G7 Summit in Italy, Prime Minister Modi invited Pope Francis to visit India, expressing admiration for the pontiff's commitment to serving the people. The two leaders met with a warm embrace, joining other world leaders to discuss Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean.

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