On eve of Waqf Bill’s tabling in Lok Sabha, Kerala BJP chief calls on KCBC President
Thiruvananthapuram: On the eve of the tabling of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, newly-appointed Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday called on the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) President, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, who has voiced support for the measure.
Chandrasekhar had been elected the new President of the state BJP on March 24, and the meeting was termed a courtesy call on the popular Cardinal, whose church headquarters are located in the heart of the city.
The BJP leader was received by the Cardinal as he arrived at his headquarters. Addressing reporters after the meeting, Chandrasekhar also called on all Kerala MPs to support the Bill that is being tabled on Wednesday. “This is not one against any particular community; it is one which will resolve the ongoing Munambam issue also,” he added.
In a joint statement recently, the KCBC President, Vice-President Bishop Pauly Kannookadan, and Secretary-General Bishop Alex Vadakumthala appealed to the state’s MPs to stand with the people and vote in favor of amending what they described as “unconstitutional and unjust” sections of the existing Waqf law.
The KCBC specifically highlighted the Munambam land dispute, where the Kerala State Waqf Board has laid claim to approximately 404 acres of land.
This land is home to over 600 families – primarily Christians from the Latin Catholic community and Hindus from backward sections – who say they have lived there for decades and legally purchased the land from Farook College.
On Tuesday, the organ of the Catholic Church asked all the Kerala MPs to see that they vote for the Bill, and if they don’t, it would mark them in history as endorsing religious fundamentalism.
Incidentally, the lone CPI-M MP from Kerala in the Lok Sabha, K. Radhakrishnan, will not be present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as he is busy attending the 24th CPI-M Party Congress.