Satheesan urges Kerala CM to convene all-party meet as Munambam land dispute intensifies

PTI, Nov 4, 2024, 12:45 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: As residents of Munambam village in Ernakulam district intensified their protest against the Waqf Board’s claim over their land, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Monday urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to convene an all-party meeting to resolve the land dispute.

In a statement, Satheesan said he has written to the Chief Minister requesting an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.

He noted that the legal proceedings initiated by the Waqf Board to reclaim 404 acres of land in Munambam have placed over 600 families in a difficult situation.

Observing that no Muslim religious organisation has claimed that the land in Munambam is Waqf property, the Leader of the Opposition demanded that the land be given to the current residents unconditionally and called for the government’s urgent intervention in the matter.

“This is an issue that could be resolved in 10 minutes,” he said in the letter.

Satheesan said that communal forces are trying to exploit the Munambam issue for their gain.

“Efforts to create communal divisions and conflicts in Kerala over this matter should be prevented. To resolve an issue that affects an entire community urgently, the government is urged to convene an all-party meeting,” the letter said.

Satheesan’s letter came as the state government, led by the CPI(M)-headed LDF, and the opposition Congress-led UDF faced criticism from various organisations, including the Catholic Church, for not addressing the plight of the affected people of Munambam.

It also comes amid growing resentment among a significant portion of the Christian population regarding the LDF and UDF’s stance on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced by the BJP-led Centre.

Recently, both fronts unanimously passed a resolution in the state Assembly opposing the BJP-led Centre’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which challenges certain provisions in the existing Waqf law.

In support of the Bill, the Church has alleged that numerous properties belonging to Christian families for generations in the villages of Cherai and Munambam in Ernakulam district have been unlawfully claimed by the Waqf Board, utilising provisions in the existing Act.

The CPI, the second-largest coalition partner in the ruling LDF, has also cautioned against vested interests attempting to create communal division in society over the matter.