BJP spots an old waqf land row brewing in Kerala; CPM, Congress try to catch up

The Kerala lawsuit has parallels with Karnataka, wherever the BJP has the Congress authorities connected the antiaircraft implicit waqf committee claims regarding onshore successful Vijayapura district. Like successful Karnataka, the enactment has gained momentum owed to it coinciding with the Centre’s propulsion connected the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

A ineligible quality implicit the Ernakulam onshore has been pending successful the Kerala High Court ever since 2022. The BJP turned its attraction to it aft the Kerala Assembly passed a solution past period against the Centre’s waqf legislation.

What has fixed the enactment different magnitude is the engagement of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, which has raised the “eviction threat” faced by Munambam residents from the waqf board, and adjacent petitioned the Joint Committee of Parliament discussing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill implicit it.

For the past 2 weeks, section residents person been holding a protestation nether the banner of a ‘land extortion committee’, with BJP leaders, including Union curate and the party’s first-ever Kerala MP, Suresh Gopi, dropping in.

Worried that the contented whitethorn springiness the BJP a boost, with Kerala headed for 3 bypolls, the Vijayan authorities has called a meeting. “The authorities is ever with the radical of Munambam. The issue, which is earlier the court, is precise complex… People who person purchased the onshore person been staying determination for long,” Law Minister P Rajeev said.

The Congress, which is portion of the protests implicit the Centre’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill, has sought an all-party gathering to sermon the issue, portion accusing the CPI(M) of indirectly helping the BJP. “A residential country cannot beryllium made waqf land… The authorities should not person protracted the issue… frankincense letting communal forces capitalise connected it. The waqf committee should beryllium asked to retreat the lawsuit successful the High Court,” Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said, adding that authorities inaction was “meant to springiness abstraction to the BJP’’.

The Congress and CPI(M) person been successful a warfare of words successful Kerala implicit the BJP’s dilatory and dependable emergence successful Kerala, accusing each different of facilitating the same.

Congress state IUML has besides stepped successful to effort defuse the hostility and held a gathering of assorted Muslim outfits successful Kozhikode Saturday, aft which its authorities president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal issued a connection saying nary 1 wants the residents of Munambam evicted. “They are not liable for the contiguous crisis. They request documents for their land. The authorities should person intervened timely, without leaving country for communal forces,” the IUML said, adding that Muslim organisations were acceptable to springiness their enactment to resolving the issue.

“There should beryllium an out-of-court settlement,’’ Thangal said.

The BJP has urged the waqf committee to wantonness its assertion connected the Munambam land, successful bid to extremity the row. On Tuesday, addressing the media successful Palakkad, 1 of the bypoll seats, BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar said: “This is unheard of. Notices person been served to families for onshore wherever they person been surviving for generations.”

Demanding that the authorities authorities uncover details regarding waqf onshore successful Kerala, Javadekar pointed retired that the CPI(M) and Congress had “joined hands” to walk a solution successful the Assembly against the Centre’s waqf Bill.

The land

The Munambam onshore successful question was taken connected lease from the Travancore royal household by 1 Abdul Sathar Moosa Sait successful the aboriginal 1900s. In 1948, his successor Mohammed Siddeeq Sait got the onshore registered successful his name, and 2 years later, donated it to Kozhikode-based Farook College.

A ample fig of fishermen lived connected this coastal land, with their families settled present for generations. Between 1987 and 1993, the Farook College absorption accepted wealth from these occupants and gave them rubric deeds. What analyzable matters was the coming into effect of the waqf Act successful 1995.

In 2008, the past CPI(M) authorities appointed a committee to look into the functioning of the Kerala State Waqf Board, and the transportation of waqf properties. The sheet recovered Munambam onshore to beryllium waqf spot and recommended enactment accordingly. However, the Farook College absorption failed to registry its onshore with the waqf board.

In 2019, the waqf committee suo motu declared Munambam waqf property, and directed the Revenue Department to halt accepting onshore taxation from the contiguous owners.

In 2022, the authorities authorities intervened and directed the Revenue Department to proceed collecting the onshore tax, overruling the directive of the waqf board. By paying onshore tax, the occupants person immoderate assertion to the plots and tin pledge spot for availing assorted loans.

The aforesaid year, petitions were filed successful the High Court, challenging the authorities determination to judge onshore tax. The court, which is successful the process of proceeding a twelve appeals connected the issue, from some sides, stayed the authorities decision.

One of the petitioners is Farook College, which has challenged the waqf committee determination to state its onshore arsenic waqf property. A subordinate of the assemblage management, Prof A Kuttialikutty, said they volition conscionable adjacent week to instrumentality a last telephone connected the issue. “It is not waqf property, but spot talented to the assemblage management… which has sold the onshore to respective occupants successful the past,’’ helium said.

Joseph Benny, convener of the ‘Munambam Land Protection Samithi’, said: “We person been surviving connected the onshore for generations, but without documents. We had a ineligible conflict with Farook College absorption for 30 years. Then, arsenic per a compromise, we, the 604 occupants, paid wealth to the absorption and got the rubric deeds registered successful our names from 1987 to 1993. How has specified onshore go waqf spot now?’’