Ramesh, Catholic church body row ends

A row between Jairam Ramesh and a Catholic church body has ended with the editor of a publication tendering apology for remarks that the Union minister was a board member of a trust that received foreign funds under the pretext of protecting Western Ghats.
Earlier, Ramesh said that he will initiate legal action against Laity Voice, the mouthpiece of Syro Malabar Laity Commission for "some contents" in the editorial article on Western Ghats.
In a letter to Ramesh, Laity Commission Secretary and Chief Editor of the magazine, V C Sebastian, said that the article "was never intended to hurt the feelings of any one" and tendered the apology.

He also said that the views expressed in the article was personal and "they are not to be treated as the official views of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church".
He tendered apology after Ramesh wrote to head of the Syro Malabar Church Cardinal George Alencherry expressing his unhappiness over the article. The Cardinal had directed the magazine to give a satisfactory explanation.
Ramesh thanked the Cardinal for his personal intervention in the matter.
"I have always had the highest regard and respect for the Syro Malabar Christian Church, which has done so much for the socio-cultural development of Kerala... Please be rest assured of my continued goodwill and support," Ramesh said in his letter to the Cardinal.