KOCHI: As protests grow against the sweeping new rules on Lakshadweep, CPM has launched a move to bring all opposition parties under a common forum to submit a joint petition to President Ram Nath Kovind against administrator Praful Khoda Patel.
An all-party meeting has been convened on Thursday to discuss and chalk out the future course of action against the proposed new regulations such as the ban on cow slaughter, ending serving of meat in mid-day meals and allowing liquor consumption on the island.
“We are planning to bring all opposition parties together and submit a joint petition to the President against the proposed new rules, which are against the interest of the people of Lakshadweep,” said Elamaram Kareem, Rajya Sabha member and senior CPM leader.
In the all-party meeting, which will be held online, CPM and NCP leaders will participate. Local BJP leaders are also expected to attend the meeting, sources said. The government functionaries based in Lakshadweep, including the collector and the advisor to the administrator, have not responded to the protests so far. On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and Wayanad MP, joined the chorus of protestors to condemn the actions of administrator Patel. “Lakshadweep is India’s jewel in the ocean. The ignorant bigots in power are destroying it. I stand with the people of Lakshadweep,” Rahul tweeted.
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On Wednesday, Congress MPs from Kerala Hibi Eden and T N Prathapan led the protests outside the office of Lakshadweep Administration in Kochi. “The Lakshadweep administrator is implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda on the island by painting everyone living there as terrorists. We demand the immediate recall of Praful Khoda Patel,” said Hibi.
Both Hibi and Prathapan also met administrative officer Ankit Agarwal and expressed their strong protest against the sweeping new rules on Lakshadweep. Filmmaker M A Nishad said the Lakshadweep administrator was trying to bring a “casino culture” on the beautiful islands of Lakshadweep. “He (Praful Patel) is trying to serve the interests of big corporate houses, and implement a casino culture,” Nishad said, adding that the attempt is to “instil fear among the peace-loving people of the Lakshadweep islands”.
Samastha Kerala Sunni Students’ Federation (SKSSF) Lakshadweep committee has written to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the United Nations Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues against the actions of the new administrator of the islands.
Sathar Panthaloor and Nasih K K, SKSSF Kerala general secretary and the organisation’s Lakshadweep unit general secretary, respectively, said the actions of Administrator Patel are a violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007. In the letter, they said the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation Act “is a clear violation of the rights of Scheduled Tribes enshrined in the Constitution and Article 7 and 8 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to which India is a signatory”.
“(The people of the island) are on the verge of ethnic cleansing and there is a fear of internet shutdown. As (the country is) a signatory to the Declaration, the UN must ensure that India is (held) accountable for violating the rights of indigenous people,” the letter said.The SKSSF, in a separate statement, urged the Kerala government to pass a resolution “against the anti-human actions” of the administrator. The meeting also decided to file a writ petition in the Kerala High Court on the issue.
PRESSURE ON
CPM launches move to bring all opposition parties under a common forum
All-party meet, to be held online, to chalk out future course of action against the proposed new regulations
BJP leaders are also expected to attend the meeting