BJP calls for withdrawal of Waqf Board claims

Party State chief K. Surendran urges govt. to protect residents’ rights, slams Waqf Board’s ‘unilateral encroachments’

BJP State president K. Surendran has urged the Waqf Board to withdraw its claims in 26 locations across the State, including Munambam. Addressing the media on Saturday (November 2), Mr. Surendran stressed the need to halt measures impinging on people’s right to live, attributing the current issues to the Waqf Board’s “unilateral encroachments”.

His comments followed a recent meeting of various Muslim organisations convened by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president Panakkad Sadikali Shihab Thangal. The meeting passed a resolution on Friday (November 1) urging the State government to intervene in the Munambam land issue.

Mr. Surendran criticised the amendments to the Waqf law introduced by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that led to the prevailing circumstances, asserting that the Narendra Modi government had attempted to rectify errors. He urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan to clarify to the public their rationale for unanimously passing a resolution against the reform of the Waqf law in the Assembly.

Mr. Surendran also called upon both the LDF and UDF to retract the Assembly resolution and apologise to the people. He accused them of avoiding discussions on critical development issues during the election period, contrasting their stance with the National Democratic Alliance’s focus on development.

Highlighting the plight of paddy farmers, he questioned the State government’s failure to provide its share of minimum support price for paddy, while the Centre had already provided it. He urged the State government to reassess its policies, which, he claimed, were detrimental to farmers. Mr. Surendran said that the government’s anti-people stance would become evident in the upcoming elections.

Published - November 02, 2024 07:37 pm IST