Kerala opposition leader asks govt to revoke Church Bill
TNN | Mar 8, 2019, 14:27 IST
A woman seeks blessings from Geevarghese Mar Coorilos during the protest march taken out demanding implementat... Read MoreTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday demanded a complete withdrawal of the proposed Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill 2019, which, he said, is aimed at wresting control of churches and institutions from various Christian denominations.
"The chief minister, after meeting Church leaders, said that the government was not going to consider the Bill for enactment. The government took this stand fearing people's wrath. But, instead of postponing the legislation, the government should revoke the Bill altogether," Chennithala said in a statement issued here.
A similar Bill drafted in 2009 -during the tenure of V S Achuthanandan-led LDF government-was not presented for enactment fearing protests from people, the Congress leader said. "In 2017 also, the state minority commission sent the old Bill to Church leaders seeking their opinion, and the government had to back out for the second time due to strong opposition against the Bill," he pointed out.
The state government has now brought back the Bill, which was put on hold twice after finding it will not stand as per the Constitution, Chennithala said. "This is an encroachment into the constitutional rights of Christians as minorities," he said.
Chennithala also said that the transactions of churches and institutions were already being subjected to systematic and transparent auditing.
The chief minister's remark that he was not aware of the recommendations in the Bill, lacks credibility as his legal advisor N K Jayakumar is currently a member of the state law reforms commission (which proposed the Bill), the opposition leader added.
"The chief minister, after meeting Church leaders, said that the government was not going to consider the Bill for enactment. The government took this stand fearing people's wrath. But, instead of postponing the legislation, the government should revoke the Bill altogether," Chennithala said in a statement issued here.
A similar Bill drafted in 2009 -during the tenure of V S Achuthanandan-led LDF government-was not presented for enactment fearing protests from people, the Congress leader said. "In 2017 also, the state minority commission sent the old Bill to Church leaders seeking their opinion, and the government had to back out for the second time due to strong opposition against the Bill," he pointed out.
The state government has now brought back the Bill, which was put on hold twice after finding it will not stand as per the Constitution, Chennithala said. "This is an encroachment into the constitutional rights of Christians as minorities," he said.
Chennithala also said that the transactions of churches and institutions were already being subjected to systematic and transparent auditing.
The chief minister's remark that he was not aware of the recommendations in the Bill, lacks credibility as his legal advisor N K Jayakumar is currently a member of the state law reforms commission (which proposed the Bill), the opposition leader added.
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