Kochi: Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju’s visit to Munambam, a coastal area in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, has been postponed to an unspecified date. The minister was scheduled to attend an event titled ‘Thank You Modi’ at Munambam on Wednesday. 

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had planned the mega meet at Munambam, the coastal area where 610 families have been protesting against the Waqf Board's claim over their properties, on April 9 to express gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament. The meeting has been postponed even as the Munambam Bhoo Samrakshana Samithi, which leads the protest, was gearing up to accord a grand reception to the minister at the protest venue on the premises of Velankanni Matha Church, Munambam.

BJP sources said the minister’s visit has been postponed due to an emergency cabinet meeting. They said Rijiju will visit Munambam without delay. The BJP has been at the forefront of the Munambam protest, which entered its 117th day on Monday. Soon after the passage of the Waqf Bill, 50 people from the Christian-dominated area joined the BJP in the presence of its state president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The party hopes that more people will join it in the coming days.

The BJP has promised the protestors in Munambam that their revenue rights will be reinstated with the new law coming into effect. The protestors, backed by the Church, have slammed both the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) for opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. The two prominent political fronts believe that the Munambam issue should be seen as a separate case and that it will not be possible to resolve the land dispute with the new legislation.