Waqf Board: UDF Government Has Betrayed Minorities and Keralam's Secular Society, Says CPI(M)

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M) state secretariat has accused the UDF government of committing a grave betrayal of minorities and Keralam's secular society by agreeing in the High Court to reconstitute the Waqf Board in line with the BJP's communal agenda. The government accepted the demand raised in a petition filed by BJP state vice president Shaun George, agreeing to reconstitute the Waqf Board accordingly. The secretariat said the Sangh Parivar agenda is clearly visible in every policy stance the UDF government has taken since coming to power.

The LDF government had earlier passed a unanimous resolution in the Assembly against the central government's Waqf Act amendment. The CPI(M) asked what "deal" led the UDF to switch to a pro-BJP stance upon assuming office, and demanded that the Muslim League and other UDF constituent parties clarify whether they endorse this position and what stand they intend to take.

When the Chief Justice asked the government whether it agreed with the BJP leader's petition, the Advocate General replied that it fully supports it. The CPI(M) said this is clearly a continuation of an earlier understanding with the BJP, and that community organisations that support the Muslim League must also speak out on the matter.

The Waqf Act amendment, the CPI(M) said, was brought by the Centre as part of the RSS's long-term agenda to divide the people, riding roughshod over citizens' constitutional rights. The Left parties, including the CPI(M), had taken a firm stand against it in Parliament, while Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi remained a spectator and Priyanka Gandhi did not even attend the session. CPI(M) MPs had argued in Parliament that the law would reduce minorities to second-class citizens, with MPs attending the party congress in Madurai being urgently summoned back to Parliament to oppose the amendment.

The CPI(M) said the BJP had peddled the outright lie that the amendment was "to help minorities," and the true intent became evident when the Waqf Board in Madhya Pradesh was reconstituted with BJP leader and minister Sanwar Patel as chairman.

It went on to list other perceived concessions to the BJP — appointing Governor-nominated persons as VCs and syndicate members in universities, yielding to BJP demands on PM SHRI, appointing an RSS-linked person as pleader for Devaswom cases, and accommodating BJP-affiliated individuals in other legal posts. It said the Satheesan government is daily giving new meaning to the question "Is it the BJP that is governing Keralam?" The statement said the UDF government has further exposed itself to the public through its Waqf Board stance, in its complete surrender to communal forces.