Christian MPs of the country have decided to support Muslims on the Waqf Board issue. Christian MPs told the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) meeting that the Christian community should take a principled stand on the Wakf Bill as it affects the rights of minorities enshrined in the Constitution. CBCI, the apex body of Catholics in India, called a meeting of all Christian MPs on December 3. About 20 MPs participated in the meeting, most of them from opposition parties.
MPs who attended the meeting included TMC Parliamentary Party Leader Derek O’Brien, Congress MPs Hiby Eden, Dean Kuriakos, Anton Antony and CPI(M) MP John Brittas, while Union Minister of State George Kurien also joined the meeting later. The meeting held decades later was chaired by CBCI president Archbishop Andrews.
These issues were discussed
The agenda of the meeting included the role of Christian MPs in supporting and protecting the community and its rights, increasing attacks and threats against minorities, especially Christians, and misuse of FCRA to target Christian institutions. The source said a senior opposition MP suggested that the community leadership should also highlight “positive issues, the important role the community is playing today” and “not just react to negative news.” One suggestion was to inform the government and the public that three out of four students in Christian institutions actually belong to different communities.
Objection to Wakf Amendment Bill
One MP said that “photographing” needed to be banned and insisted that Christian leadership should take a stand to “call out those who do not protect the constitution”. Another MP who attended the meeting confirmed that several opposition MPs had strongly objected to some provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which is now under consideration of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The bill, among other things, changes the composition of the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Board to include non-Muslim members.
The BJP MP did not arrive
Another MP from Kerala said the issue of abolishing seats for Anglo Indians (all Christians) in the Lok Sabha and 10 state legislatures was also raised and the issue of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licenses of some Christian organizations in recent years. Targeted and cancelled. The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere, but the MPs sharply criticized the church leadership over its relationship with the government since 2014. A leader present at the meeting said that one MP even said that it had become a ‘give and take’. The source said that by the time BJP leader and Union Minister Kurien arrived, most of the opposition MPs had already spoken. Two BJP MPs, both of whom are Christians, were absent. Sources said at least two MPs raised the issue of the Thrissur Lok Sabha election result, where BJP’s Suresh Gopi won. (Input- PTI)
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