After Waqf Bill, Kerala BJP puts focus on 400 acres near Kochi as Munambam residents celebrate

Taking aim at Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress, who opposed the Waqf Bill, he said in a social media post Thursday, “What we witnessed in our Parliament yesterday was a shameless display of the Opposition’s appeasement politics. Instead of solving the issues of the people of Munambam, the INDI Alliance partners are more interested in spreading lies. Yesterday’s Waqf debate exposed this glaring truth to the people of Kerala.”

The Bill also led to celebrations in Munambam, and one of the leaders of the protest, Joseph Benny, said it would “help solve our problems”.

“However, we will continue the agitation until we get back revenue rights over the land. Once it (the amendment Bill) is an act, it is the duty of the state government to execute the Act,” said Benny, the chairman of the action committee.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and Congress have expressed scepticism about how the Bill would solve the issue in Munambam.

CPI(M) leader and Kerala Law Minister P Rajeeve said, “What I understand is that the Bill has no retrospective effect. It will not be binding on already registered properties. How will the existing issues (such as Munambam) be solved? …In the coming days, the narrow-minded politics on the issue will be exposed. The issue is complex and the BJP is trying to fish in troubled waters.”

Opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress also said the Bill would not help solve the Munambam issue. “Let the BJP make clear how the Bill will find a solution for the issue. The land is not Waqf land and the issue can be solved by the state government. Certain people want to make it a major issue of polarisation between two minority communities. The CPI(M) government is supporting that polarisation agenda. Congress and the Muslim League have taken a stand in favour of the occupants,” he said.

In Munambam, a coastal area near Kochi, crackers were burst soon after the Bill was passed in Lok Sabha, PTI reported. The report also said that BJP leaders, including Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan, are scheduled to visit the site.