Kochi | The 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Board for registering the disputed Munambam land on the Centre's UMEED portal and demanded that the notification be withdrawn.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 Chief Minister V D Satheesan's earlier claim that the Munambam issue could be resolved within "10 minutes" if his party came to power.
It alleged that the Waqf Board had "challenged" the families residing in the coastal village and said the move was not merely against the Christian community but against Kerala's secular fabric.
The editorial also demanded that the Waqf Board's UMEED notification be cancelled and urged to remove the "Waqf markers" erected in Munambam and throw them into the Arabian Sea.
It questioned whether justice was being delayed because of religious considerations and asked why the Waqf Board's notification could not be revoked as easily as government land acquisition notifications.
Referring to the dispute involving around 600 families, mostly Christians, residing in Munambam, the editorial said the residents were facing hardships similar to those experienced by people affected by land acquisition in connection with K-Rail project which has been denotified by the new UDF government recently.
It further alleged that provisions relating to Waqf properties had caused widespread disputes in the country and claimed such issues had contributed to the growth of "extreme Hindutva politics." The newspaper also questioned whether the new state government would act on the issue, recalling earlier political assurances that the Munambam dispute could be resolved quickly.
The editorial came a day after Kerala State Waqf Board chairman K S Hamza reiterated that the disputed lands, such as in Munambam, were Waqf property and stated that it had been registered on the UMEED portal along with other Waqf assets in the state.
The Munambam land dispute has become politically sensitive in Kerala, with residents fearing loss of ownership rights over their land.
The BJP had backed the protesting residents and claimed that the amended Waqf Act would help address their concerns.
