Sat Apr 05 07:55:00 UTC 2025: ## Kerala Opposition Leader Slams Waqf Bill, Alleges BJP’s Divisive Tactics
**Kozhikode, April 5, 2025** – Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition, V.D. Satheesan, on Saturday accused the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and the State Waqf Board of neglecting the Munambam land issue, claiming its resolution would take “10 minutes” if they acted decisively. He made these remarks during a protest event where Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan launched a day-long fast against the appointment of Shaija Andavan as Dean of Faculty at NIT-Calicut, following Andavan’s controversial social media post praising Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin.
Satheesan criticized the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, alleging it was a Sangh Parivar attempt to exert control over Waqf properties and interfere with religious practices. He denied any connection between the bill and the Munambam land dispute, stating that vested interests were attempting to create a link. He highlighted the unanimous demand from Muslim and Christian organizations for a permanent land solution for Munambam residents.
The Opposition leader further accused the BJP of using the issue to gain political mileage by creating religious conflict. He pointed to an article in the RSS mouthpiece *Organiser*, published on the same day as the bill’s passage, which claimed the Catholic Church owned vast tracts of land acquired illegally during the British Raj. Satheesan warned that a similar “Church Bill” targeting Christian landholdings was likely to follow.
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