Hundreds of people representing various Christian denominations took part in a mass convention organised by the Catholic Congress here on Thursday in protest against the draft Kerala Church (Properties and Institution) Bill, 2019 proposed by the Kerala Law Reforms Commission.
Inaugurating the event, Mar Joseph Perumthottam, Archbishop of Changanassery, said the provisions in the Bill were indeed an infringement on the constitutional rights guaranteed to the religion.
Casting a doubt over the intention of commission chairman K.T.Thomas in formulating the draft Bill, the Archbishop asserted that Churches in India followed a well laid out set of rules to ensure transparency in the administration of its assets. He demanded immediate removal of Mr. Thomas as head of the commission.
The Archbishop cautioned against the constitution of tribunals to address property-related disputes, which might lead to intervention of forces from outside in the administration of churches.
Biju Parayanila, president of the Catholic Congress, presided over the event. Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil and Samuel Mar Irenios were among those who spoke.
Disappearance
Meanwhile, the commission on Thursday sprang a surprise when the controversial draft disappeared from the ‘Present Bill’ page of its official website. An inquiry with the commission’s office later confirmed that the document had not been taken out but moved to a different page. “The draft was uploaded for the public to respond till March 6 and now that the stipulated time period is over, it has been switched to another page and a public hearing on the same is scheduled to be held on a later date,” said an official.
The commission chairman cancelled a sitting on the draft in Kottayam on March 7 and 8.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Wednesday assured a delegation of Churches led by Syro-Malankara Church Major Archbishop Cardinal Baselios Cleemis that the government had no plans to implement the Bill.
March favouring Bill
Later in the evening, the All Kerala Church Action Council, led by Geevarghese Mor Coorilose, Metropolitan of the Niranam Diocese of the Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, took out a march to the office of the Law Reforms Commission here demanding implementation of the Bill.