Kerala chief minister: RSS remarks on Church assets indicate ominous signs

T'puram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said after the passing of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, which infringes on Muslim minorities' constitutional rights, Sangh Parivar is now targeting Catholic Church. This can be inferred from an article in RSS mouthpiece Organiser, he said.The article, ‘Who has more land in India? The Catholic Church vs Waqf Board Debate', was pulled down later. "For many years, there has been a common belief that the Waqf Board is the second largest landowner in India after the govt, however, this claim does not align with the actual data on land ownership in the country. The Catholic Church of India holds the distinction of being the largest non-governmental landowner, possessing vast tracts of land spread across the country."The Catholic Church has assets worth Rs 20,000 crore and 17.29 crore acres of land. The Church acquired this much property in a dubious manner. Although there is a circular stating that the land given by the British govt does not belong to the Church, it cannot be seized in a satisfactory manner, the article said. The RSS mouthpiece also said the legality of the land itself is being questioned."The unnecessary remarks about the Church's assets indicate some ominous signs. Although the article was withdrawn from the Organiser's website, it reveals the true intentions of RSS. The article highlights the extreme anti-minority sentiment of the majority communalism promoted by Sangh Parivar," he said.This should be seen as part of a larger plan to systematically target and dismantle minority groups one by one. Progressive, democratic and secular movements must unite to resist this, the CM said.KPCC president K Sudhakaran said the BJP has begun moves to seize the assets of the Catholic Church. "The article is filled with blatant lies and communalism. Organiser is spreading false propaganda by publishing a photo claiming that MP Benny Behanan resigned in protest against the Waqf Bill."Congress veteran Ramesh Chennithala said: "First, it was Muslims and now Christians. The agenda of the RSS and BJP to target religious minorities has been exposed through Organiser. The Waqf Bill brought govt control over Waqf properties and now Christians are the next targets. This is why we stood united against the Waqf Bill," he said.Congress succeeded in rallying all opposition parties in India against the Waqf Bill. The fight to protect religious minorities will continue. In Kerala, the BJP is attempting to sow blatant communalism. Secular believers in Kerala must stand together to counter such communal poison. Waqf Bill will not resolve the current issue as it does not have retroactive effect, he added.