In the controversy surrounding the Waqf bill, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi cautioned that the Christian community could be the next focus of the RSS following a claim in its publication that Catholic churches are the biggest landowners in the nation.
The piece on the Organiser’s website, now removed, stated that Catholic organizations in India possess 7 crore hectares of land, positioning them as the biggest non-governmental landowner.
“I had said that the Waqf bill attacks Muslims now but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future. It didn’t take long for the RSS to turn its attention to Christians. The Constitution is the only shield that protects our people from such attacks – and it is our collective duty to defend it,” Gandhi tweeted while sharing the link to a news report based on the Organiser’s article.
Describing the article as “deplorable”, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala stated that the BJP’s upcoming move would be to take control of the assets held by the Catholic community.
The piece, named ‘Who possesses more land in India? The debate between the Catholic Church and the Waqf Board claims that a significant portion of the land owned by Catholic institutions was obtained during British colonial rule through the Indian Church Act of 1927.
It referenced a 1965 governmental directive indicating that land leased in the colonial era would not be acknowledged as church property anymore.
