Dharwad: Following the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council’s (KCBC) endorsement of the center’s proposed Waqf Amendment Bill, Karnataka Deputy Leader of the Opposition and MLA for the Bharatiya Janata Party Arvind Bellad confirmed that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a significant reform to the Waqf bill that has “created a huge havoc.”

Arvinde Bellad told the media report that the Waqf Amendment is a significant change. The Waqf Bill has caused a great deal of chaos among Muslims and Hindus alike. It thus has draconian powers. It has authority that goes beyond the Constitution.

Bellad emphasized the need for changes and said that the BJP was legally changing the legislation.

“I think that particular law needs major amendments and rightfully so. our party, our BJP Government is amending the law,” he said.

The KCBC’s support was earlier praised by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who also criticized the “propaganda” being propagated about the proposed law and affirmed that it is not against any group.

“This act is not against any community – that is propaganda being spread to poison the minds of some,” Rijiju wrote on X, adding, “I welcome the request by the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) to all MPs of Kerala to support the Waqf Amendment Bill as a Minister and as a minority community member.”

In response to the Bishop’s Council’s support, the Union Minister emphasized the fight of hundreds of families in Munambam, Kerala, to save their possessions and contended that it was the responsibility of those in politics to solve the problems that the people faced.

Politicians have an obligation to care for and solve the issues and difficulties that our people confront. In Munambam, Kerala, for instance, hundreds of people have suffered and are still looking for a way to save their homes and property,” Rijiju said.

Provisions in the Waqf legislation that legitimize “illegal claims” in a manner that prevents Munambam residents from exercising their income rights on the property must be changed, according to a statement released by Fr. Thomas Tharayil of the KCBC secretariat.

“The MPs should work together to alter the waqf law, which has provisions to bring claims against this, since the Farooq College administration, which sold the property to the Munambam locals, has claimed that the land was acquired as a gift. Each MP will get a letter from KCBC asking them to vote in favor of changing the waqf law, the organization stated in a statement.

In Munambam, a seaside community in the Ernakulam district, some 610 families have been demonstrating against the Waqf Board’s claim to their property.