THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Muslim League and Congress have decided to take a strong stand in the minority scholarship issue. Forming a common front against the state government, Opposition leaders said they would not allow the benefits meant for the Muslim community to be compromised. They have also decided to demand the government to bring a separate scheme for the Christian communities.
Following the High Court’s objection, the state government last week decided to restructure the scholarship ratio as per the 2011 census. The 2015 order, which the court struck down, had allocated the scholarship to Muslims and Latin Catholic Christians and Converted Christian communities in an 80:20 ratio. The court had called it “legally unsustainable”.
Though Opposition Leader V D Satheesan had initially supported the government’s plan, he retracted it following objections from Muslim League leadership.Opposing the move, Muslim League MP E T Muhammed Basheer said deciding the ratio based on the census was a betrayal and that it cannot be accepted.
Top Muslim League leaders, including P K Kunhalikutty, K P A Majeed and Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, blamed the government and said the Muslim community had lost an exclusive scheme based on the Sachar Committee recommendations due to the government’s move to revise the scholarship structure.
When more IUML leaders started questioning the government’s decision, UDF convener M M Hassan convened an emergency meeting on Thursday to ensure a unanimous Opposition plan.“There is no controversy in UDF regarding the minority scholarship. We have decided to stand united behind the decision taken at the all-party meeting,” said Satheesan said after the meeting. He met the reporters with IUML general secretary Kunhalikutty.