Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Friday rejected reports that the government was planning to promulgate a Church Act to manage the properties of the Church in the State.
Referring to the demand by Church groups, including the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), to withdraw the proposed Bill, Mr. Balakrishnan said there was no such Bill in the pipeline. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had already made it clear that the government had no plans in this regard, he said.
LDF not in favour of Act
Addressing a press meet here, Mr. Balakrishnan said the Left Democratic Front was not in favour of a Church Act.
“We have laws enacted by Parliament and those governing the Church. There is no need for another set of laws. Some sections are trying to mislead the public by spreading false information,” he said.
The Church groups, including the Syro-Malabar Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, started protesting after the State Law Reforms Commission published the draft of the Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill, 2019 on the commission’s website seeking views of the people.
Bill not submitted: panel
Special Correspondent writes from Thiruvananthapuram:The Law Reforms Commission has not submitted the Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill to the government, vice chairman of the panel K. Sasidharan Nair has said.
A press note quoting him refuted media reports that the commission would collect feedback from the public on the Bill on March 7 and 8.
It said the draft Bill had been published on the commission’s website and feedback would be collected online.
The clarification was issued in the wake of the criticism raised by the KCBC over the rationale behind the Bill.