Kochi: When Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju addresses the residents of Munambam on Tuesday, it would mark a key moment in the BJP’s efforts to reach out to the Christian community in Kerala. The minister will be attending a meet titled ‘Thank You, Modi’ at Munambam in the wake of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government effecting the Waqf (Amendment) Act. 

As many as 610 families, mostly Christian fisherfolk, in the coastal village in Ernakulam district have been staging an indefinite protest against the Waqf Board’s claim over their properties. The affected families are pinning their hopes on the newly amended law to get their revenue rights reinstated. The passage of the law has given a clear edge to the BJP in the coastal area with many of the protestors openly declaring their support to the party.

Notably, the ‘Thank You, Modi’ event will take place on the premises of the Velankanni Matha Church, where the anti-Waqf Board protest has been going on for over six months. “A meeting to express gratitude to the Modi government for bringing in the Waqf Amendment Act, taking place on a church compound itself, sends out a huge message to the country. It opens a new chapter in our concerted efforts to reach out to the Christian communities and clear their misunderstanding about the BJP,” a state functionary of the party told Onmanorama.

Though the NDA had planned to conduct the meet with the participation of supporters of the BJP and its allies at a different venue, sources said the Munambam Bhoo Samrakshana Samithi, which leads the protest, wanted the meet to take place on the church compound. The NDA has scaled down the participation due to this. “Apart from the protesting families, only NDA supporters from Vypeen constituency will be attending the event. Though the participation would be less compared to what we had planned, the political value of such a meeting would be much higher,” another BJP state leader said. Not only the venue but the timing of the event is also significant as it takes place in the Easter week. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held on April 9, though it had to be postponed. An emergency cabinet meeting was cited as the reason for postponing the meet.

The minister’s schedule makes it clear that the BJP is eyeing a long-term relation with the minority community in Kerala beyond the Munambam crisis. The minister, according to BJP sources, is scheduled to meet the Archbishop of Varapuzha Joseph Kalathiparambil at the archdiocese headquarters at 4 pm ahead of the Munambam meet. 

“The archbishop had strongly advocated for the Waqf Amendment Act as a solution for the crisis faced by the people of Munambam. Now, the law has become a reality, and we think it’s our duty to go and meet him,” a BJP leader who is instrumental in arranging the meet said. 

The minister will also be meeting the leaders of the Syro Malabar Church’s Public Affairs Commission and the Kerala Council of Churches, an ecumenical body comprising representatives of 18 churches in Kerala, the BJP leader said. 

NDA leaders including BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and BDJS chief Thushar Vellappally will be attending the meet at Munambam. 

The meet takes place a day before the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna is scheduled to hear more than a dozen petitions, including one filed by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf law.