As Parliament debated the Waqf Amendment Bill, the BJP in Kerala took out marches to the official premises of Congress and CPI(M) MPs on Wednesday, saying it was raising the Christian community’s concerns.
The protests came after Christian bodies, including the powerful Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, asked Kerala’s MPs to vote in favour of the Bill. Kerala has 18 Congress MPs, one from CPI(M) and one from the BJP.
BJP state chief and former union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on Facebook: “Political parties like Congress are too afraid of losing their vote banks, so they lie and create misinformation about #WaqfAmendmentBill to scare Muslims, even if it means trampling on the rights of all other Indians including those in #Munambam #Kerala.’’
He was referring to protests at Munambam in Ernakulam district by 600 families, mostly Catholic, who dispute the Waqf’s claim on a land once owned by Farook College in Kozhikode. The Waqf board staked the claim last year.
Addressing BJP members who marched to the residence of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram, the party’s former state chief K Surendran said: “Those who won after pocketing the votes of Christians, who form 18% of the state population, have taken a stand against the Waqf Bill. These MPs belonging to both LDF and UDF have betrayed the people of Munambam. Tharoor who won after obtaining the votes of Christians should make his stand clear.”
Fr Thomas Tharayil, Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council spokesperson, said Wednesday: “The unbridled powers in the Waqf should be amended. When the Bill is presented in Parliament, the sections which lead to the emergence of issues like Munambam should be amended.”
As the Church mounts pressure on the issue, various Muslim groups said MPs should discharge their duties in a judicious manner.
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Sayed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, president of the powerful clerics’ body Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, said the Bill is worrying for Muslims. “Many are trying to make political gains from the issue after unleashing hate campaigns. That will destroy the secular and peaceful atmosphere in our country and weaken the Constitution. All should come out against such attempts,” he said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
