Facing criticism from various church groups for his remarks against bishops who attended the Prime Minister’s Christmas programme, Kerala Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan on Tuesday said he is withdrawing the controversial parts of his speech related to “cake and wine” that had offended them.

Cheriyan, a senior leader of the CPI(M) in Kerala, however, maintained his stance on the alleged silence of bishops regarding “violence targeting Christians” in Manipur and other parts of the country during Modi’s Christmas programme. He addressed the media, acknowledging the criticism from the Catholic Church and other Christian groups, particularly regarding his comments against priests present at the Prime Minister’s Christmas event at his official residence in New Delhi on December 25.

“If there is any difficulty and pain in the remarks about cake and wine, those parts are withdrawn,” Cheriyan said in response to attacks against him. He said that the priests had raised concerns about his speech during the inauguration of a CPI(M) local committee office in Alappuzha district on Sunday evening. Cheriyan acknowledged that the mention of wine and cake in his speech may have caused discomfort. The Minister withdrew his contentious statement following Kerala Catholic Bishops Council’s (KCBC) declaration of non-cooperation with the state government until he retracts it.

“The mention of wine and cake is retracted if they feel like it,” he said, referring to KCBC president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis’ displeasure over his statement.