Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Wednesday that the government would not leave Waqf Board appointments to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
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Replying to a submission moved by IUML leader P. K. Kunhalikutty, Mr. Vijayan said, “The government would amend the rules to protect existing Waqf Board employees. It would also introduce a new recruitment policy for the board to protect the interests of all stakeholders.”
The IUML had campaigned hard against PSC intervention in Waqf recruitments and caused a stir by allegedly threatening to take its protest to mosques during Friday prayers.
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Earlier, Mr. Vijayan had told Muslim leaders that the government had not initiated the measure. The Kerala State Waqf Board had decided to leave appointments to the PSC. (The Centre's Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013, governed regional waqf boards.)
Hence, the government was flexible about the matter, he said. Mr. Vijayan had also dispelled the propaganda that the move to hand over recruitment to the PSC was a sly move to appoint non-Muslims in Waqf institutions.
The IUML had alleged that the government had plotted to open the door for religiously non-observant Muslims and those from other religions to dabble in Waqf matters, including administration of wealth, trusts, endowments, and institutions and properties, by leaving appointments to the PSC.
The IUML had also pointed out that the NSS and the SNDP Yogam had opposed the move to leave Devaswom Board appointments to the PSC to keep the administration of publicly owned temples and allied institutions within the fold of the Hindu community. It had demanded parity of law.