NEW DELHI: A day after the Congress party moved the Supreme Court challenging Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has now shifted focus to Catholic Church land after the passage of Waqf Bill.
In a post on X, he shared an article from RSS linked magazine which claimed that Catholic institutions are the largest landholder in the country. However, the article has been taken down from the website of the magazine since then. “I had said that the Waqf Bill attacks Muslims now but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future,” he wrote.
“The Constitution is the only shield that protects our people from such attacks -- and it is our collective duty to defend it,” he said.
After the passage of the Bill, Gandhi said that the “Waqf Bill attacks Muslims” and “sets a precedent to target other communities in future”.
Congress leader KC Venugopal too shared another article pointing to the Catholic Church surpassing the Waqf Board in landholdings and said, “As predicted, first one minority targeted, now onto the next.” The article, published in the Organiser on April 3, said that the Catholic Church owns around 17.29 crore acres of land across the country and it is not the Waqf Board but the Catholic Church of India which is the largest landholder in the country.
Criticising the BJP and RSS, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said it is a step-by-step attempt to target and isolate minorities and their institutions. “The article, published soon after the Waqf Amendment Act was passed, lays bare the Sangh Parivar’s deep-rooted antagonism towards minorities. Though later withdrawn, it reveals a deliberate, step-by-step attempt to target and isolate minorities and their institutions. Secular forces must unite in resistance,” he wrote on X.