Waqf amendment Bill is violation of Article 26 of Constitution and federalism: Kerala CM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to derive political gains from the Waqf (Amendment) Act, calling the move unconstitutional and discriminatory.

While speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, CM Vijayan alleged that the RSS has openly identified minorities as internal enemies of the country — a view he said was made evident in a recent article published in Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece.

CM Vijayan said, “The issue of the Munambam people is that they have been living there for a long time. It is difficult to move out of there. Their main issue is that they want to avoid moving out now. Since they have been living there for a long time, the government has given priority to how to protect their rights. A commission was appointed to study their problems and understand how to implement them, but there were some objections. Now the High Court has given its permission to go ahead. While appointing that commission, a request was made to the people there and those who are protesting were asked to wait until the report of the commission is received. They did not accept it.”

He further said that the BJP had some other expectations for political gain. CM Vijayan further said, “Those expectations arose when some people went and told them. What needs to be seen in this is that this is a matter related to waqf, so some people showed interest in how to create confusion and how to make a profit from it. As they say, “To catch fish by stirring up the pond,” in reality, the BJP has the most important agenda of the Sangh Parivar. Some people have floated the Waqf Amendment Bill as a permanent solution to the Munambam issue. It has now become clear that it is a complete fraud. The new law is a violation of Article 26 of the Constitution.”

The Chief Minister said that none of them have clarified which clause in the passed law can solve the Munambam issue to date. “The BJP has most recently tried to exploit the situation politically by bringing Union Minister Kiran Rijiju to the forefront. When he held a press conference in Kochi, the truth accidentally came out of his mouth when the journalists asked him questions. The Centre has taken a stance that is extremely anti minority and satisfies majority communalism. The Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against it. The Left strongly opposed it in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. After the bill was passed, the Sangh Parivar widely propagated that this is a one-size-fits-all solution to the Munambam issue,” Kerala CM said.

He said that the fact is that there were clear political objectives and calculations behind this. With this, the Union Minister himself has now made it clear that there is no solution to the problem in Munambam and it has no retroactive effect.

“They are not clarifying which clause in the bill resolves the Munambam problem. The BJP has finally made an attempt to exploit it politically by bringing Union Minister Kiran Brijju here. When the journalists asked him at a press conference in Kochi, he unknowingly told the truth. He said things that were contrary to what they intended. He had to admit that the people in Munambam would not get justice even with the Waqf amendment,” he said.

“The Minister said that the fight should continue in the Supreme Court to resolve the problem. We all heard the Samarasamithi Convener’s response at that time. His statement came out as if he was shocked after listening to the Union Minister’s words. The BJP tried to deceive the people in Munambam. The government had earlier said that it would protect the people in Munambam, but for that, it needs the protection of the law. We are examining how it is possible. Considering the special situation of the implementation of the constitutional amendment, the BJP tried to exploit it. Unfortunately, the opposition leader also supported it,” he further added.

“We can see in it (Waqf law) a violation of religious faith and federalism in our country. The RSS saw it as an opportunity for a kind of Muslim marginalisation and thereby political gain. I had said something earlier that this is not only against Muslims, but that is what the organiser has now clarified through their article. The organiser said that the properties owned by Christian churches are very large, and they have the most property in their possession. Do not forget one thing: the RSS sees minorities as internal enemies of the country; only two have been mentioned, Muslims and Christians. That is the approach they are adopting,” he further said.

Vijayan said that their approach in this bill is the politics of hatred and enmity. “The central government has taken a step that is extremely anti-minority and satisfies the communalism of the majority. That is why the Kerala Assembly unilaterally passed a law against it, and the Left parties strongly opposed it in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. After passing an extremely unconstitutional bill, the Sangh Parivar widely propagated that this was a single root cause of problems for the people of Munambam. The fact is that there were precise political objectives and calculations behind this,” he further added. (ANI)