Lakshadweep stand-off reaches boiling point

April 27, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:39 am IST - KOCHI

: The raging stand-off between the elected representatives of Lakshadweep and its administration is heading for a flashpoint with Muhammad Faizal, who represents the islands in the Lok Sabha, slated to launch an all-embracing campaign for a Legislative Assembly.

“A memorandum requesting the government to seek the possibility of establishing a Legislative Assembly or a Council above the Lakshadweep administration will be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker on Tuesday. We have already approached the senior leaders of all political parties seeking their support for it,” the MP said.

About 45 MPs from all parties including the BJP, have signed the memo, which calls for the formation of a special committee of parliamentarians to look into the issue. Meanwhile, steps are also in place to bring the issue to the attention of members in the Rajya Sabha through the representatives of the Nationalist Congress Party.

According to Mr. Faizal, almost half of the government employees have been on a strike since March 18, seeking revocation of the suspension order slapped on their president Syed Muhammad Koya by the administrator. Charging the administration of stifling democracy by slapping restrictive orders under Section 30 of the Indian Police Act, he also blamed the bureaucracy of making a mockery of the Panchayat Raj system.

P.P. Razia Begum, chairperson of the Village (Dweep) Panchayat, maintained a similar view and said that major portions of the plan and non-plan fund allocations from the Union government were being surrendered without utilisation. “By cancelling the decisions taken by the local body in favour of its residents, these officials are pushing Lakshadweep into turmoil, while the government of India is yet to wake up to this fact,” she said.

Commenting on the issue, H. Rajesh Prasad, administrator of Lakshadweep, said the official was suspended after being charge sheeted for criminal intimidation and attempting to assault the Chief Executive Officer of the Lakshadweep district panchayat. He also dismissed the reports of a strike and non-utilisation of funds.

“More than 90 per cent of the funds allocated for the islands have been spent in the previous year and it’s only a handful of employees, who are staging peaceful demonstrations outside the secretariat after their duty hours. The matter has been reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he told The Hindu.

A memorandum requesting the government to seek the possibility of a Legislative Assembly above Lakshadweep administration will be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

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