The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has decided to temporarily back off from the decision of the coordination committee of various Muslim organisations to hold awareness discourses in mosques on Friday against the proposal of the Left Democratic Front government to hand over Waqf Board appointments to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
At a joint meeting of Muthavallis (managing trustees of Waqf) and office-bearers of Mahal Madrasas in Kozhikode on Thursday to chalk out strategies against the government, IUML Malappuram district president and Sunni Yuva Jana Sangham State vice-president Panakkad Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal said that the party leadership had not taken a decision to sensitise the Muslim community to the Wakf appointments during the Friday prayers at mosques. The decision was taken at the core committee of Muslim organisations, he said.
The decision of the committee had drawn sharp reactions and the CPI(M) had come out against using mosques for “anti-government campaign.”
Mr. Sadiqali Thangal said that the IUML, which endorsed all the decisions of the Samsta Kerala Jameyyath Ul-Ulama in this regard, was withdrawing for the time-being from the awareness discourse owing to the political controversy triggered in the State. Also, the party supported the campaign of the Samasta on December 10.
Protest on Dec. 10
Earlier, Samasta president Syed Mohammed Jafri Muthukoya Thangal, who inaugurated the meeting, said that the organisations and all its feeder outfits would support the protest of the Muslim organisations as well as its campaign on December 10 to explain the fallout of the decision of entrusting the Waqf Board appointments to the PSC. The Samasta wanted the existing system of appointments to prevail.
So far the organisation had not officially given a call for any protests, he said.
CM’s call
Mr. Muthukoya Thangal, while demanding that the government withdraw the proposal, also said that the Samasta would take a decision at an appropriate time. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had called him over phone and had agreed to hold discussions on the apprehensions of the Muslim community. Samasta general secretary K. Alikutty Musliyar had also deliberated with Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader Elamaram Karim on the issue, he said.
Decision after talks
He said that the Samasta would take a call on agitations after these discussions. If a concrete decision was not arrived at, the Samata would be in the forefront of the struggles.
He also slammed Minister for Wakf and Haj V. Abdurahiman for stating that the proposal would be implemented at any cost. If the Chief Minister had talked in a respectful manner, the Minister showed arrogance on the issue, he said.
