The Catholic church mouthpiece ‘ Deepika’ Malayalam daily, in an editorial published on Tuesday, has come in support of the Waqf amendment bill that the Central government proposed to introduce in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In the editorial titled ‘Waqf: A Test of Secularism in Parliament’, the Catholic Church mouthpiece has issued a strong warning to the Parliament members from Kerala that “future generations will hold them accountable” if they fail to back the legislation.

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The editorial says that the fundamentalist stance of the MPs from Kerala will be part of history if they do not support the Waqf amendment bill to be introduced in the Lok Sabha the next day. “It is time for political parties to take a final decision on the Waqf Amendment Act. The demand is not to abolish the Waqf Act, but only to amend the sections that allow encroachment and deny constitutional remedies. It does not deny justice to anyone in the Muslim community,” the editorial says.

The editorial further stated that the amendment will also put an end to the injustice faced by thousands of Hindu-Christian-Muslim citizens who are victims of the Waqf Act .”If the CPI-M and the Congress do not yet understand the reasonability of the bill, there is nothing more to say,” the editorial said.

The MPs from Kerala are being told by the Catholic church daily that ”Waqf is a test of secularism in Parliament and whether the amendment will be passed, if you do not support it, is another matter.” The editorial reminds them that “if you do not support this, your fundamentalist stance will be part of history, and future generations will hold you accountable”.

“According to Section 40 of the Waqf Act, 1995, if the Waqf Board believes that the property is theirs, it can bypass any existing registration act and acquire it. The victims should approach the Waqf Tribunal, not the court,” the editorial said.

The editorial also stated that in 2019, a total 404 acres of land on the Munambam Velankanni coast of Vypin Island in Kochi was included in the Waqf Board’s asset details using the encroachment power of Section 40 of the Waqf Act.

“Muslim League leader Haris Beeran MP said if the bill is passed, they will approach the Supreme Court. Of course, they have the right to do so. However, it is worthy to remember that the people of Munambam have been sitting in agitation for the last so many months to get this right, which is guaranteed by the Constitution,” Deepika stated in its editorial.

The editorial further said the people should have the right to approach the court against the religious board that acquired their land, instead of moving the tribunal, which is part of the Waqf board.

The editorial criticised the Congress and the CPI-M, suggesting that these parties may believe that certain communities’ votes are assured, while others need to be appeased periodically. “Whatever the case may be, do not trim secular and democratic values just to fit the Waqf footwear,” the editorial cautions.

Earlier on Saturday, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) urged MPs from Kerala to vote in favour of the Waqf Amendment Bill when it comes up for discussion in Parliament.

KCBC president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, in a statement, demanded that “when the Bill is taken for debate in Parliament, the people’s representatives from Kerala should vote in favour of amending the sections which are unfair and anti-constitutional”. The KCBC is a powerful organisation of Catholic bishops in Kerala belonging to the Syro-Malabar, Latin and Syro-Malankara Churches.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) has also urged political parties and legislators to adopt an unbiased and constructive approach to land issues, including Munambam in Kerala.

The CBCI has said that certain provisions in the existing Waqf Act are inconsistent with the Constitution, and the Waqf Board in Kerala has invoked these provisions to declare the ancestral residential properties of more than 600 families in the Munambam region as Waqf land.

In a statement released on Monday, the CBCI said that over the past three years, this issue has escalated into a complex legal dispute. It added that only a legal amendment can provide a permanent solution, and this must be recognised by the people’s representatives. It added that the Waqf Amendment Bill should provide a permanent solution to land issues including Munambam in Kerala.