Thiruvananthapuram | BJP's Kerala state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said that the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has issued a notice to the State Waqf Board over the registration of the disputed Munambam land on the UMEED portal.
In a statement here, Chandrasekhar said he had submitted a detailed complaint to Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, alleging that the Kerala Waqf Board had unilaterally uploaded details of several properties, including the 404-acre disputed land at Munambam, on the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal.
According to Chandrasekhar, the law authorises only the concerned Mutawalli, or Waqf property trustee, to upload such records on the portal.
He claimed that, in the Munambam case, the authority rests with Farook College and alleged that the Waqf Board's action was illegal and beyond its powers.
The BJP leader said the Centre's decision to seek an explanation from the Waqf Board came after his representation and reflected the seriousness with which it viewed complaints raised by Munambam residents and various organisations.
Chandrasekhar reiterated that the BJP has consistently stood by the people of Munambam and is committed to protecting their property rights and livelihoods.
He argued that uploading the disputed land on the UMEED portal while ownership issues remain pending before legal forums raises serious legal and administrative concerns.
The Nemom MLA also said that the BJP would intervene in similar Waqf-related land disputes across Kerala, including in Thaliparamba, and pledged to pursue legal and administrative action to protect the interests of what he described as the rightful landowners.
Calling the Centre's intervention "a significant step forward" in the people of Munambam's fight for justice, Chandrasekhar said the BJP would continue to pursue the issue through all available legal and administrative channels.
The Munambam controversy escalated after the Kerala State Waqf Board registered the disputed land on the Centre's UMEED portal, prompting protests and political criticism.
The 404-acre property in the Ernakulam district is at the centre of a long-running ownership dispute involving residents, mostly Christians, and Waqf authorities.
Responding to the controversy earlier, Kerala State Waqf Board Chairman K S Hamza had clarified that uploading the land details on the UMEED portal was only a technical and mandatory legal procedure and would not determine the final ownership of the property.
He said any decision on ownership would ultimately be subject to government and court rulings.
Residents of Munambam have maintained that the land was not originally a Waqf property and have expressed concerns that its classification could affect their ownership rights and land titles.
The dispute has led to prolonged legal proceedings, administrative scrutiny and political debate over whether due process was followed in declaring and registering the land as Waqf property
