Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – About 20 Christian MPs from the Opposition bloc have urged Catholic church leadership to take steps to rally the community against the contentious Bill on Waqf properties and ensure that they do not add fodder to anti-Muslim sentiments.
The MPs made the comments during a meeting of Christian lawmakers called by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in the national capital recently. The meeting was chaired by CBCI president Archbishop Andrews Thazhath. Union Minister George Kurien too joined the deliberations towards the end of the meeting though he was not present when the demand on the Waqf Bill and other issues were raised, media reports said on Saturday.
The Church should take a principled stand in supporting minority rights which are enshrined in the Constitution, the Opposition MPs told the CBCI, which represents the majority of Catholic churches in the country.
The controversial bill was earlier referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to take the opinions of different stakeholders. According to an MP, who attended the New Delhi meeting, it was brought to the notice of the Church that the Waqf Amendment Bill infringes on constitutional values. It should be opposed even though there are individual cases of property disputes. For instance, the Kerala State Waqf Board has staked a claim over 404 acres of land in Ernakulam district’s Munambam coast — land inhabited for generations by 600 Christian and Hindu families.
Those who attended the meeting included John Brittas of CPI(M), Derek O’Brien of Trinamool Congress, Hibi Eden and Dean Kuriakose of Congress, and Richard Vanlalhmangaiha of the Zoram People’s Movement Party of Mizoram. The agenda for the meeting was decided by the CBCI in a “reminder”, which was sent to the participants.
Reports said the Opposition MPs were vocal against the Waqf Bill claiming that it would have a far-reaching impact on minorities in the future, including the Catholic Church. They were of the view that the Church should ensure that the community should not be part of any anti-Muslim narrative.
