Church authorities come out against P C George

KOTTAYAM: A day after Chief Whip P C George appeared before the High Court to argue his own case, the petitioners- the vicar and trustees of the Koovappally St Joseph Church have come out against him.
The trustees of the church said George was trying to mislead the government and the court and was creating unrest among the local residents.
The trustees, V M Mathew Varanam, K S Sebastian, Pulppel and Jose Sebastian Eliyachanil, alleged in a statement that George was trying to gain political mileage by creating division among the local residents.
The case relates to the shifting of the Erumely Subregistrar Office, now functioning in a rented building in Erumely town.
The St Joseph Church had given free land for the construction of a new building for the office.
However, the office was not shifted to the building even after the completion of work.
The vicar of St Joseph Church, Antony Nirappel, had filed an appeal against this in the High Court.
The trustees of the church alleged that George was trying to keep the office in his constituency, where it is functioning in a dilapidated single room.
The trustees criticised George for making embarrassing remarks against the vicar of the church.
“The government had earlier issued an order to shift the office from Erumely to Kottayam.
However, George used his political clout to revoke the order.
Now, he is trying to communalise the issue,” the trustees alleged.