Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday harked back to his warning that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill “sets a precedent to target other communities in the future” and flagged an article published on the web portal of the RSS mouthpiece Organiser that sought to draw the government’s attention to the land held by the Catholic Church in the country.

The article, accessed by this paper on Friday evening, has since been withdrawn from the portal. Titled “Who has more land in India? The Catholic Church vs Waqf Board debate”, the article sought to fact-check Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju’s claim that waqf boards in the country collectively owned the largest amount of land apart from the government. That “distinction” belongs to the Catholic Church, the article said, citing data from the government land information website.

Quoting The Telegraph report on the article, Rahul posted on X: “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….’’

On Wednesday night, during a discussion on the bill in the Lok Sabha, Rahul had posted on X: “The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights. This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future.”

Several other MPs had raised the same spectre in both Houses during the marathon discussions that saw the Opposition bury their differences and put up a robust fight against the draft legislation.

According to the article in the Organiser portal, the Catholic Church of India owns around 7 crore hectares (17.29 crore acres) of land throughout the country. “This land hosts numerous institutions, including churches, schools, colleges and hospitals. The total estimated value of these properties is around ₹20,000 crore, making the Church a significant player in India’s real estate landscape.”

The article also referred to allegations of the Church taking away land through conversions. Both the allegations — land grab and conversions — have been repeatedly denied by the Church.