Thiruvananthapuram:BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday welcomed the suggestions sent by Syro-Malabar Church and the KCBC to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Chandrasekhar said the submissions by the Church and the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) reveal how Waqf boards are "unjustly claiming land" from a large number of citizens who have legally purchased and developed lands.
In his letter dated September 10, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, chairman of the Syro-Malabar Public Affairs Commission, claimed that numerous properties belonging to Christian families for generations in the villages of Cherai and Munambam in the Ernakulam district have been unlawfully claimed by the Waqf Board.
The KCBC, in its letter sent on the same day, had said that the said claims by the Waqf Board were unjust, unconstitutional and a clear violation of the rights guaranteed under the Constitution. In a post on X, Chandrasekhar termed the Waqf Board claims as 'unjust' and 'unconstitutional', and said the Congress party was opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
"Their submissions reveal how #Waqf boards are unjustly claiming land from a large number of citizens who have legally purchased and developed lands.. These claims are unjust, Unconstitutional and violation of peoples fundamental rights. But guess who continues to oppose Waqf board amendment act - Rahul's constitution-waving Cong party," Chandrasekhar said.
The BJP leader said he welcomes the submissions to the Parliament committee on Waqf Board Bill by the two leading Christian organizations. The church and the Bishops' council said the action of the Waqf Board has led to protracted legal battles and the displacement of rightful owners. The church had said that around 600 families are under threat and these people belong to the impoverished fishermen community.
The Public Affairs Commission of the Church had urged the committee to make suggestions to amend the Waqf Act of 1995 based on humanitarian and Constitutional principles. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on August 8, following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The move was met with significant objections from opposition parties, who argued that the Bill is intended to target the Muslim community. The influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome. With approximately five million believers, it is the largest Eastern Catholic Church after the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian (Nazrani) denominations.
