The Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, a politically influential council of Sunni scholars that has always backed the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the past, has expressed satisfaction with some of the initiatives of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
Umar Faisy Mukkom, Samastha leader, said this after attending the Kozhikode district leg of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s ‘Kerala Paryadanam’ at the Government Higher Secondary School, Karaparamba, on Sunday, where he interacted with prominent personalities from different walks of life.
Representatives of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind were not invited to the event, while those from the Kozhikode and Thamarassery and Kozhikode archdioceses of the Syrian Catholic Church, did not attend it citing other engagements.
The Samastha leader pointed out that the State government was one of the first in the country to pass a resolution in the Assembly against the Citizenship Amendment Act. “It was a commendable act. Not only that, Mr. Vijayan also led an agitation against the Act. There are also some praiseworthy development works as well,” Mr. Faisy said.
Meanwhile, he welcomed the exclusion of the Jamaat-e-Islami from this event. “From its inception in the 1940s, the Samastha had been a vocal opponent of that organisation and we have strived to stop it from gaining a foothold here. They are supporters of a theocratic state, which is against the cultural ethos of our land,” Mr. Faisy said.
Asked about the United Democratic Front (UDF)’s tie-up with the Jamaat-backed Welfare Party of India in the recently held local body polls, he said the UDF had denied reports about any alliance. “However, it was out in the open that they had an understanding with that party. We are against any truck with the organisation. Any political party that joins hands with the Jamaat will be decimated, whether it is IUML or the UDF. Look at what is happening in the Congress, there is infighting over the issue,” he added.
Mr. Faisy said the organisation had conveyed its concerns about the quota for economically weaker sections. “We are not against helping economically weaker sections. However, it should not be at the cost of other communities who had been pushed to the sidelines due to historical reasons, and by snatching their constitutional rights. The Chief Minister has promised to look into our concerns,” Mr. Faisy said.
