Arguing that the BJP’s motive to take backdoor control of Islamic institutions, such as the Waqf, Venugopal plunged into the debate saying that the ruling party was aiming to “defame, divide and disenfranchise the minorities.”
The Congress MP from Allapuzha asked why the Waqf Bill insisted on at least two non-Muslim members being part of the board when sacred Hindu shrines in Jammu like the Vaishno Devi trust and the Devaswom Board in Kerala (which manages all the temples in the state) did not have any non-Hindus on their boards.
“This Bill is directly against the Constitution,” Venugopal said, adding that the “rights of minorities must be safeguarded” at all costs. The Congress MP also sought to expand the argument beyond the Waqf board by saying that 753 churches had been attacked in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Manipur and that the BJP was against the equal treatment of minorities.
