Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 16 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday claimed that the BJP’s projection of the Waqf Act as the solution for the Munambam residents’ problems was a “complete lie” and this was revealed during the media briefing held by Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju at Kochi a day ago.

Vijayan, at a press conference held here, also alleged that the BJP projected the Waqf Act as the only solution for the land ownership issue of the Munambam residents to “muddy the waters” for political gains, all as part of the Sangh Parivar agenda.

He said that the BJP brought Rijiju to Munambam in the hopes of making political gains, but the move failed when the minister said the Act has no retrospective effect and that the people of Munambam will have to take up legal remedies to get back their land rights.

Vijayan said that the organisers of the protest in Munambam were also “shocked” by the union minister’s statement that the Act will not be a solution to their problems.

He was referring to the statement by Syro Malabar Church spokesperson Father Antony Vadekkekara who told reporters earlier in the day that the fact the Act was not going to resolve the problems of the Munambam residents, was “disappointing, discomforting and creates apprehensions”.

Vadekkekara said that the Church now realises that “political parties have misled the people” and that the Waqf Act was not a solution for the problems of the Munambam residents who will have to seek legal remedies.

At the same time, he also said that Rijiju has promised all help to the Munambam residents in their legal fight and that in a few weeks there will be resolution of their problems.

“We are ready to wait, but there should be a permanent solution to the problem as early as possible,” Vadekkekara said.

The CM, during his press conference, also said that while the BJP was using the Waqf Act to make political gains, certain statements by the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly were supporting such attempts by the saffron party.

Satheesan, during the day, while speaking to the media, said that the state government has attempted to scuttle the resolution of the Munambam issue by allowing the State Waqf Board to move the Kerala High Court and get a stay on the proceedings of the existing Waqf Tribunal dealing with the matter.

By the time the stay is vacated, a new tribunal in accordance with the amended Waqf Act will be in place and it will further complicate the issue, he claimed.

He also said that the Congress right from the start was pointing out that the BJP was misleading the people of Munambam by projecting the amended Waqf Act as a solution to their problems.

Besides Satheesan, Vijayan also accused the Congress-ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) of helping the BJP’s attempts in Munambam by adopting “double standards” with regard to the status of the land in question.

The CM claimed that IUML was disputing the lease agreement in respect of the land in question when it was given in 1967 for setting up a college. “There is a great deal of public sentiment against the League leadership over this decision,” he contended.

The Munambam residents, majority of them Christians, have been agitating for the past several months against the Waqf Board’s allegedly unlawful claim on their land and properties, despite them having registered deeds and land tax payment receipts. PTI HMP HMP KH