Kochi: If early responses are any indication, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju’s much celebrated visit to Munambam, the epicentre of a land struggle against Waqf Board, seems to have backfired for BJP. The minister addressed the residents of the coastal village in Ernakulam district on Tuesday evening and promised that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government would ensure that the newly-effected Waqf (Amendment) Act helps them regain their revenue rights. The minister’s words were welcomed with huge rounds of applause by the crowd, comprising affected families. However, political damage was already done earlier in the day when the minister addressed media.

In his interaction with the media, the minister made it clear that the Waqf land dispute troubling the Munambam residents could be resolved only through legal recourse. The minister highlighted the provision in the newly-enacted law which made it possible for the affected parties to move the Supreme Court with their grievance in case of an unfavourable verdict from the Waqf Tribunal. Rijiju’s key argument was that the new law would help the residents of Munambam present their claims before the apex court. BJP Kerala chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar went on to clarify that while the amended Act was "not a magic wand" to instantly resolve the Munambam issue, it would assist the people in fighting their case in the Supreme Court. The minister said this was not possible before.

The BJP minister also could not clarify which all provisions in the new law would help resolve the Munambam issue and how. At the meet in Munambam, on the premises of the Velankanni Matha church where the affected families have been staging a protest for over six months, Rijiju said he very well knew the solution to the problem but he was unable to state it in public since the matter is sub judice. Both at the presser and the public meet, Rijiju said the Centre was in the process of framing rules under the new law and once the legislation is done, directions will be issued to the state government.

The minister urged the Kerala government to ask the District Collector to revisit the entire status of the survey conducted by the Survey Commissioner of the Munambam area. This would also help bring the issue under the purview of the newly amended Act, as the Munambam matter was being dealt with under the earlier Waqf provisions, he said.

The minister’s responses have only added to the confusion as to how the amended law would solve the Munambam conundrum. The Congress, which was cornered on the issue with the protestors finding a new ally in BJP, was quick to respond to the minister’s remarks. Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said Rijiju’s remarks upheld the Congress’s stand that the Munambam issue will not be solved through the newly-amended Act. He said the new Act opens doors to unending legal fight over the Munambam dispute. Congress leaders K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala also echoed Satheesan’s stance saying BJP cheated the people of Munambam with false promises.

Venugopal said Rijiju’s revelation has exposed how the BJP has deceived the people of Munambam.

When the minister addressed Munambam, he sounded like he was already aware of the criticism. He cautioned the people not to fall for the narratives of the Congress and the CPM.

While the political criticism is something BJP can easily manage, the real trouble surfaced when the people on the protest front aired their concerns. Munambam Bhoo Samrakshana Samithi chairman Joseph Rocky told a TV channel that “the outcome of the minister’s visit was not up to their expectation”. He said they were told that the amendment in Section 2 that exempted land donated to trusts and societies from wakf purview would easily solve their problem. He said the protestors would now sit with their lawyers and get clarity on how the new law will help them.

He said the affected families believed that their revenue rights would be reinstated at the earliest with the new law.

Munambam parish vicar Antony Xavier, who is the patron of the land struggle committee, also told media that they had expected a big announcement from the minister. “I have handed the minister a query on how the new law would help the Munambam people. He said he would reply in three weeks,” the priest said.

It appears that Rijiju came to Munambam with the burden of great expectations evidently set by his own party’s promise to the people. The new law may help the Munambam residents fight their case better in the court as the minister suggested. However, the admission that the changes in the law offer no shortcut to the solution could be a letdown to Munambam.