'They have to prove the credibility of their talk; whether they want to focus on the secular face of India, whether they want to focus on democracy and above all freedom of an individual to practice his or her religion.'
'They should be given a strong message that they are not the ones who decide the rule of the land, and they are not the ones who decide what justice is.'
A leading Catholic Church daily in Kerala has described the Waqf amendment bill as a crucial test of secularism in Parliament, urging MPs to support it. The editorial in Deepika daily comes as the union government prepares to table the bill for parliamentary consideration. The editorial calls the bill a test of secularism and warns MPs that failing to support it would mark them in history as endorsing religious fundamentalism. The paper added that the bill will also put an end to the injustices faced by thousands of Hindu, Christian, and Muslim citizens who have suffered due to the Waqf law. The editorial also recalled the recent statement addressed to Kerala MPs by Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) where the KCBC President Cardinal Mar Baselios Cleemis Catholicos urged amending provisions in the Waqf law that validate claims over land which people of Munambam have lawfully possessed. Opposition parties have slammed the bill as "unconstitutional" and against the interest of the Muslim community.
Father Uzhunnalil, 58, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March last year by the terror group.
