KOZHIKODE: Giving enough indication on IUML’s stand in the Haritha issue, party acting general secretary PMA Salam said religious belief was central to all party activities. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said that this was what Women’s League leader Noorbina Rashid highlighted in her speech recently. Noorbina had said that community politics, not gender politics, was important to IUML.
IUML had blamed that former Haritha leaders, who revolted against MSF leaders’ harassment, were influenced by liberal and atheistic thinking. Salam said belief in God was essential to work in IUML. “But that does not mean all party members must believe in Islam. It can be any religion. But atheism and irreligious attitude have no place in the party,” he said.
IUML leaders have been hinting that the former leaders of Haritha were heavily influenced by liberal and atheistic thinking and that they were conspiring to smuggle in these ideas into the organisation. Salam said the party’s decision to reserve 20% positions for women in all its feeder organisations was not the result of the Haritha members’ rebellion. “It was taken much earlier,” he said.
The IUML leader said the government has not yet addressed the serious issue of paucity of seats for Plus 1 courses in Malabar districts. “Even those who got A-plus in all subjects in SSLC examinations may not get an opportunity for further studies,” he said.
This can be solved to some extent by redeploying additional seats that fall vacant in southern districts to Malabar. “There are around 75 schools in southern Kerala where the number of students is fewer than 40 in one batch. However, there are 60 or 65 students in each batch in the schools in Malabar,” he said.
Salam said education minister’s statement that ‘students will not get the course of their choice’ is a challenge to society. “The IUML has decided to launch agitations including fasting and march to the secretariat against government’s apathy,” he said.