Majority of the Islamic organisations are protesting against the Waqf Amendment Bill and the organisations have urged Muslims to tie black bands around their hand while offering Namaz in protest agains the Waqf bill. While the opposition parties like Congress are opposing the Bill, the ruling NDA has managed to build a consensus within on the issue. Amid the protests, the Narendra Modi government has got support from an unexpected quarters over the bill.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) has extending support to the Waqf Amendment Bill while requesting 20 Kerala MPs support the bill in Parliament. The KCBC urged Kerala MPs to vote in favour of amending the ‘;unconstitutional’ and ‘unjust’ provisions of the Waqf Act. In a statement, Fr. Thomas Tharayil of the KCBC secretariat said that provisions in the Waqf law, which legitimise the illegal claims in such a way that people in Munambam are unable to exercise their revenue claims on the land, need to be amended.
“The Farooq College management, which sold the land to the residents of Munambam, has asserted that the land in question was received as a gift, the MPs should cooperate to amend the waqf bill Which has provisions to raise claims against this. KCBC will send letter to each MPs requesting to vote in favour of amending waqf bill,” KCBC said in a statement.
Around 610 families of Munambam, a coastal village in the Ernakulam district, have been protesting against the claim by the Waqf Board on their land.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the move saying that the support comes as a strong response to those ‘Bhadkaau Bhaijaan’ Committee members who are trying to use the Waqf in order to polarise insight and in order to mislead the Muslim community.
“It was never an issue of minority versus majority. The unlimited powers given to Waqf have led to land grabbing even of the Christian community…Today, this is an issue between land grabbers and poor Muslims, but those who are turning it into Hindu versus Muslim or majority versus minority have got a tight slap from KCBC,” said Shehzad Poonawalla, BJP leader.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that those opposing the Waqf Bill are ‘powerful people’ who encroached upon properties. “Who are those who are opposing this bill? There are a few powerful people who have encroached upon the Waqf properties. They are misguiding people. They are saying the bill is unconstitutional. It’s everyone’s right to criticise things, but criticism must have some substance in it,” Rijiju told ANI.
“The request letter sent by the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council is extremely important for everybody. Many of the organisations across communities are supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. We must understand that the Bill is basically in the interest of the poor Muslims, children and women and also to ensure that the properties of the Waqf are managed in a transparent and accountable manner. We ensure the welfare of the common people,” Rijiju said.
Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said that many Christian organisations, including the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), are extending support to the Waqf Amendment Bill proposed by the centre after poor families in the Munambam suburb claimed to be living under the threat of their land being seized by the Waqf board.
Stay informed on all the , real-time updates, and follow all the important headlines in and on Zee News.
