BJP Keralam urges Centre to revoke Munambam land entry in Umeed portal

T’puram/Kozhikode: A day after a Church-run daily made a scathing attack on Kerala Waqf Board through its editorial over the registration of Munambam land on Umeed portal, the BJP state unit on Tuesday urged the Union govt to revoke the entry while chief minister V D Satheesan said in New Delhi that registration would be examined.

Though Satheesan said the issue would be handled legally and reiterated that no residents of Munambam would be evicted, he termed the timing of the registration, done in the final phase of the previous LDF govt, “mysterious.”

Board chairman K S Hamza, meanwhile, said that registration — which reignited the land dispute issue — was to complete its legal responsibility in the wake of the May 17 deadline to register all Waqf properties on the portal. He said around 59,000 properties across Kerala were included in the portal as part of the exercise. Munambam land was added during the process, he said.

Calling the inclusion of the disputed land in Waqf records as unilateral and unlawful, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MLA, submitted a petition to Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, urging his urgent intervention to annul the step and restore the land’s earlier status.

The board has issued directions to its officers to upload details of properties where the Mutawallis themselves are unwilling to do so. This action contravenes section 3B of the unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act 1995, which clearly provides that only the Mutawalli is competent to upload property details on the Umeed web portal, said the letter. “Centre should issue necessary directions to the Kerala Waqf Board under Section 96 and other provisions under the Umeed Act to remove the said properties that have been illegally registered on the Umeed portal,’’ Chandrasekhar said.

‘No hatred’

Hamsa told reporters in Kozhikode that the board has no hatred or animosity towards Munambam residents but only sympathises with them, He, said, the issue must be resolved within the framework of law and existing legal technicalities.

Hamsa said the residents had allegedly been deceived into purchasing land that was already registered as Waqf property by being made to believe that the land carried transferable ownership rights.

He said the UDF could not distance itself from the issue, pointing out that the land had been registered as Waqf property in 2019 when Panakkad Rashid Ali Shihab Thangal was serving as Waqf board chairman.

Hamsa further said that more than 500 properties currently involved in legal disputes in various courts were also uploaded on the portal.

“But it is not a final document. It is subject to court decisions or govt take on the matter. Technically delay happened because the people who purchased the land should have checked the base documents. They should now get justice and the Waqf Board should also get justice,” he said.

Replying to a question on whether the previous LDF govt had supported the inclusion of the Munambam land in the Umeed portal, Hamsa said it was solely a decision taken by the Waqf Board and that the previous govt had no role in it.

On demands for the dismissal of Waqf Board, Hamsa said people were free to express their opinions.