Calling for a nationwide blanket ban on religious conversion, Biju wrote, “The strange situation at present should go. If required, the Constitution should be amended… Certain Church heads and priests demand that anti-conversion laws prevailing in 11 states be scrapped.”

In July, when two Catholic nuns from Kerala were arrested in Chhattisgarh on charges of forced conversion and human trafficking, the Hindu Aikya Vedi and other hardliners in the Sangh Parivar had raked up the issue of Christian conversions and slammed state BJP leaders who had rushed to Durg to extend support to the nuns.

Referring to the case of the nuns, the article said political and religious leaders had attempted to create “religious hatred” over the issue. The article, without naming the BJP, has also criticised the “interference” of political parties and the government in the matter that is pending before the court. “It is illegal and equal to denying justice to the victim,” Biju wrote.

The article also said anxiety over religious conversion remains. “It is imperative for the majority community to remain vigilant. Those who strive for the upliftment and unity of the Hindu community must defeat the forces of religious conversion, no matter what strategy they adopt. If religious conversion is the right of religious forces, then resistance to religious conversion and conversion are the right and duty of Hindus too,” Biju wrote.

Reacting to the article, the Syro-Malabar Church posted on Facebook, “Why is Kesari lying in this manner? The article is inflammatory and misleading. It is a deliberate attempt to communalise Kerala and polarise India, using lies as fuel and fear as a tool.”

An editorial published on Monday in Deepika, the official daily publication of the Catholic Church, also came out against the RSS, saying the organisation cannot hide its “vichara dara (thinking)” even during its centenary year.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, in a statement, said the article showed the “anti-Christian stand of the RSS”. “It has exposed the real face of the BJP, including its state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who had clicked photos with the nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh,” Venugopal said.

The BJP, which has been making a concerted effort to reach out to Christians in Kerala — it has tried to bring in more Christian faces in its state and district units in recent months — has not reacted to the article so far.

The party has been treading cautiously on the issue of conversions, speaking mainly on its development plank under the Modi government. The nuns’ arrest in July came at a time when the party seemed to have made considerable progress in its outreach, marked by visits of key leaders to Christian homes and clergy during festivals