KOCHI: The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) letter to all Kerala Members of Parliament (MP) urging them to back the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill found resonance among the Narendra Modi cabinet members.
The bill, which seeks to do away with unjust and unfair clauses detrimental to the Munambam people, has been hailed as necessary by the KCBC and supported by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar too hailed the KCBC stand. In a statement on Saturday, KCBC urged the MPs in Kerala to vote in favour of the Waqf Amendment Bill.
Both the leading fronts in Kerala -- UDF, comprising mainly the Congress, and the Muslim League, and the LDF, comprising the CPM and CPI, among others -- have taken a stance against the Waqf Amendment Bill.
The BJP in Kerala, which is wooing the Christian community into its fold in the state, has taken a stand that the bill, when passed will end the Munambam residents' fear. Around 600 Christian and Hindu families fear that they may lose 404 acres of property inhabited for generations in Munambam coast in Ernakulam after the Kerala State Waqf Board staked the claim on the land.
Taking to the X (formerly Twitter), Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju posted, "I welcome the request by the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) to all MPs of Kerala to support the Waqf Amendment Bill as a Minister and as a minority community member. It is the duty of those in politics to care for and address problems and challenges faced by our people. For example hundreds of families in Munambam, Kerala have suffered and continue to seek a solution to protect their properties and homes. This act is not against any community - that is propaganda being spread to poison the minds of some. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji & our Govt strives to protect the rights of every Indian citizen and will continue to do so. I sincerely hope all Kerala MPs will support this Bill in the interest of all people and not sacrifice the interest of people for petty appeasement politics."
Union Finance Minister Sitharaman welcomed the stand taken by the KCBC. She posted, "A welcome step by the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC). Their call is for amending the sections which are “unfair” and “anti-constitutional” in the existing Waqf Act. Kerala Catholic bishops put weight behind Centre’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill."
Not to be left behind, Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, "Kerala Catholic Bishop's Council and many other Christian organisations are asking the MPs from Kerala to take a stand on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and vote in favour of it." He highlighted why this has become a necessity since in Munambam in Kochi hundreds of poor families are under the threat of having their land being seized by the Waqf. This is an issue for which they have been agitating for months and years, and it is time that the MPs of Kerala do what their duty to do, which is to help people who are in trouble, help people and solve their problems rather than only play appeasement politics... The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is not against any community. It is about aligning a law to the constitutional values of India..."
