KOCHI/KOTTAYAM : The Congress MPs from Kerala, especially the Christian members, are in a tight spot after the party took an official stand to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill, which will be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
BJP has taken a stand in Kerala that the dispute over Munambam land between the Kerala State Waqf Board and 600-odd families, mostly Christians and Hindus, who are living in the 400 acres of land for generations, can be resolved in favour of the residents once the Bill is passed.
“The BJP is creating a false narrative that the people of Munambam will get their land immediately after the Waqf Amendment Bill is passed. A settlement to the Munambam dispute can come only through a verdict of the court, where the case is pending,” said a Congress MP, who wished not to be named. “What the BJP is trying to do is to divide Muslims and Christians through the Waqf Amendment Bill,” he said over the phone.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal made it clear in no uncertain terms that the party would oppose the Bill. “In the introduction stage itself, the INDIA alliance and all like-minded parties had a clear-cut stand on it. This Bill is targeted legislation and is fundamentally against Constitutional provisions. We are going to oppose the Bill... This is what has been decided unanimously by the INDIA alliance parties. We request other like-minded parties also to vote against this Bill...,” he said.
After Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) and Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) urged the Kerala MPs to vote in favour of the Bill, the Church-backed Deepika Daily on Tuesday wrote an editorial warning the parliamentarians that the future generations would hold them accountable if they fail to back the legislation.
Acknowledging IUML MP Haris Beeran’s decision to challenge the Bill in the Supreme Court if it is passed, the Deepika editorial sought to remind that the people of Munambam too are fighting for their constitutional rights. “We once again appeal to the Congress and the CPM to vote in favour of amending the Waqf Act, which has brought hundreds of families to the streets in Munambam,” the editorial said.
The firm stand taken by the Catholic church has put the Congress MPs from central Kerala on the defensive. CPM has also made it clear that the party will oppose the Bill.
“The pressure of the Congress and CPM may stem from the belief that the votes of certain communities are traditionally theirs and that those of others will be lost if they are not considered from time to time. Whatever the case may be, do not trim secular and democratic values just to fit the Waqf footwear,” the editorial cautions.
A Christian MP from Kerala told TNIE that if there are common grounds in which Muslims and Christians agree, the Congress would support those clauses in the Bill. “Congress is a national party, and we can’t take a Kerala-specific stand on the Bill,” he explained the party’s helplessness.
Both Congress and CPM have issued a whip to all MPs to be present in Parliament on Wednesday when the Bill is presented. The Congress’ three-line whip asked its MPs to be present in the Lower House for three days, according to reports.