Waqf Bill effect: 50 people from Munambam join BJP
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Kochi: Fifty people from Munambam, a coastal area in Ernakulam district which is at the centre of a protest over wakf claim, joined the BJP on Friday, a day after the Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill. The Munambam residents joined the party in the presence of its leaders including newly appointed state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Chandrasekar termed the event a big moment in Kerala politics.
“This is a reply to the people’s representatives who have ignored the people of Munambam. The BJP will ensure that the people get their revenue rights,” the former Union Minister of State said, inducting the new joinees to the BJP. He said more will follow suit in the coming days.
The Munambam residents’ decision to join the saffron wing in the backdrop of the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill assumes political significance as the indefinite strike by over 600 families in the coastal belt against the wakf claim over their residential properties has garnered national attention. The BJP has claimed that the new law can bring an end to the Munambam residents’ crisis, while the CPM and the Congress have opposed the bill, alleging it is part of the BJP-led government’s attempt to take over minority rights.
Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Friday stated that the recently passed Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament would benefit the residents of Munambam, who have been protesting for revenue rights over their properties against Waqf Board's claims.
The opposition parties at the centre have questioned the BJP’s claim saying the new law would be of no help to Munambam residents as it does not have retrospective effect.
BJP MP and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi on Friday reiterated that the bill would be advantageous to Munambam residents.
Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Friday continued to blame the CPM-led state government for the fate of the Munambam people. He said the state government and the State Wakf Board could resolve the crisis by addressing the residents’ concerns.