Thiruvananthapuram, May 25: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Monday assured that residents affected by the Munambam land dispute would not be evicted from their homes and alleged that the previous LDF government had indirectly aided efforts to create communal divisions by backing the Waqf Board’s claim over the disputed land.
“We have taken a decision that these victims will not be evicted from their places. They will be protected. They will get their land. We will fight for that till the very end,” Satheesan told a press conference here.
“That was our position when we were in the Opposition, and we are continuing with the same stand now,” the chief minister said.
His remarks came a day after Kerala State Waqf Board chairman K S Hamza reiterated that the disputed lands, such as Munambam, were Waqf property and said it had been registered on the UMEED portal along with other Waqf assets in the state.
Satheesan alleged that the Waqf Board’s decision to register the Munambam land on the UMEED portal was politically motivated and aimed at preventing the present government from resolving the issue quickly.
“They have decided that the issue should not be solved within 10 minutes. That is why the land was registered in the portal,” he said, referring to his earlier claim that the issue could be resolved swiftly.
The chief minister further alleged that while ministers in the previous LDF government had publicly assured Munambam residents that they would not be evicted, the government’s actions indicated otherwise.
“The Waqf Board under the previous government decided to register the controversial Munambam land in the Waqf portal. That means the previous government was arguing that it was Waqf land,” he said.
“Then these poor victims will become encroachers. We will solve it,” he added.
Satheesan also accused the Sangh Parivar of attempting to create divisions between communities over the issue, but alleged that the previous Left government too had indirectly helped advance the same agenda.
“Now it is very clear that they also acted directly and implemented the same Sangh Parivar agenda to create a split between the two religions,” he alleged.
The Munambam land dispute has emerged as a politically sensitive issue in Kerala, with several residents expressing concern over the ownership status of their land.
The BJP has extended support to the protesting residents and claimed that the amended Waqf Act would help address their concerns.
Church-run Malayalam daily ‘Deepika’ in its editorial on Monday strongly criticised the Kerala State Waqf Board for registering the disputed Munambam land on the Centre’s UMEED portal and demanded that the notification be withdrawn.
The newspaper also urged the immediate intervention of the new Congress-led UDF government in the state, recalling Satheesan’s earlier claim that the Munambam issue could be resolved within “10 minutes” if his party came to power. (PTI)
