- 50 people from Munambam, Kerala, joined BJP after Waqf Bill passed.
- Munambam villagers, mostly Christian, protested 175 days over Waqf’s land claim.
- BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited and supported their land rights.
Fifty people from Munambam, a coastal village in Kerala, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament. Munambam is at the center of a dispute over land in the state.
The villagers, mostly from the Christian community, have been protesting for 175 days against the Kerala Waqf Board, which claims ownership of 400 acres of land that the villagers have lived on for generations.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the BJP state president, visited Munambam soon after the Bill was passed and met with the protesting families. He called the day an important moment in Kerala’s political history.
He said, “This movement has given strength to the Prime Minister and Parliament to pass the amendment. We will support you until you get your land rights back. The people of Munambam were let down by the MPs and MLAs they voted for, but their voices were heard in Parliament. This is a proud moment for Indian democracy.”
Joseph Benny, the leader of the Munambam protest group, mentioned that the fifty new BJP members had previously supported either the Congress or the CPI(M).
Interestingly, the Church and its media in Kerala have criticized the Congress and the Left parties. Deepika, a popular Malayalam newspaper supported by the Catholic Church, criticized both the CPI(M) and Congress for not supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The Church has called the parts of the Waqf Act that let the Waqf claim land unfairly “anti-people.” The newspaper also accused the two parties of trying to create fear among minorities by spreading the idea that Christians are being persecuted by groups linked to the RSS in North India and Manipur.
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