Tag: Indian Union Muslim League

Adani: In Parliament, Opposition Protests Against Lack of Action, Discussions by Union Govt

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sessions were adjourned as MPs’ raise slogans and trooped into well. Sixteen parties attended a meet in Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber.

New Delhi: For the second day in a row, opposition parties held protests in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to demand a discussion on the situation arising out of the allegations against the Adani group and the fall in its stocks in which several public sector banks and Life Insurance Corporation hold stakes.

The opposition had on Thursday stated that it would demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe or a time-bound investigation by a Supreme Court-appoint panel into the allegations against the corporate house.

Kharge convenes meeting; Trinamool Congress stays away

Before the start of the day’s proceedings, the opposition members again met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the strategy on cornering the Central Government in the matter.

Prior to the meeting of the floor leaders of the opposition parties, Kharge said “we had given notices yesterday but no discussion took place”.

Today’s meeting in Kharge’s chamber was attended by members of 16 opposition parties. Ahead of the meeting, Congress leader and MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “Floor leaders of Opposition parties will be meeting at 10 am in chamber of LoP @kharge -ji in Parliament House to coordinate strategy. The demand remains the same. Only an independent investigation will save LIC, SBI and other institutions FORCED by PM to invest in the Adani Group.”

16 Opposition parties come together at meeting

Since almost twice as many Opposition parties attended the meeting today in comparison to Thursday, it showed the amount of concern which the erosion of public wealth and the fear of some large banks and public institutions losing money caused.

The parties which attended the meeting were the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal United, Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI, Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), KC (Thomas) and Revolutionary Socialist Party.

The Trinamool Congress did not attend the meeting saying “there is nothing more to discuss” as everything had been finalised on Thursday.

In comparison to Thursday, many more notices were given by MPs in both Houses to discuss the situation that arose following the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani group.

‘Discuss loss to public, LIC, SBI due investment in Adani stocks’

Among these, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dr Syed Naseer Hussain gave a Suspension of Business Notice under Rule 267 to discuss “the issue of fraud in investment by LIC, SBI, Public Sector Banks and Other Financial Institutions losing market value.”

Another Rajya Sabha MP, Elamaram Kareem of CPI(M), also gave a notice under the same Rule seeking a discussion on “a high-level inquiry is essential on the allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research against the Adani group.”

Similarly, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena sought a discussion in the Upper House on “reported incidents of over-exposure of holdings of LIC, SBI, etc and market manipulation allegations against certain crucial business firms and concerns over market stability and investor confidence in that regard.”

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari also gave a notice “to discuss the issue of frauds in investment by LIC, SBI, public sector banks and other financial institutions losing market value, endangering the hard-earned savings of crores of Indians.”

Both Houses adjourn amid Opposition protest

When the Rajya Sabha assembled, Kharge raised the issue in the House but Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar did not allow a discussion and urged the members to let the House continue with its designated business. However, as the opposition members persisted with their demand and raised slogans, he adjourned the proceedings till 2-30 pm.

In Lok Sabha, too when the Opposition members demanded a discussion Speaker Om Birla disallowed it saying the House is to take up the important discussion on Presidential Address. He charged that the opposition was not allowing the discussion on the first address by President Draupadi Murmu who comes from an Adivasi background. As the opposition protest continued, the House was adjourned till 2 pm.

SC to Hear on September 12 Pleas Challenging Constitutional Validity of Citizenship Amendment Act

While refusing to stay the operation of the law, the top court had on December 18, 2019, issued notices to the Union government on the pleas.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court would hear on September 12 a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants who came here from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.

While refusing to stay the operation of the law, the top court had on December 18, 2019 issued notices to the Union government on the pleas.

As per the list of businesses uploaded on the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat has posted 220 petitions, including the lead plea of the Indian Union of Muslim League, for hearing on Monday, September 12.

The amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.

The top court had issued notice to the Union government and had sought its response by the second week of January 2020.

However, due to the COVID-19-induced restrictions, the matter could not come up for a full-fledged hearing as the matter involved a large number of lawyers and litigants.

While issuing the notice on pleas, the bench had asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, representing the Union government, to consider using audio-visual medium to make citizens aware of the legislation.

“We are not going to grant a stay,” the apex court had said.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), one of the petitioners which have challenged the CAA, said in its plea that it violates the fundamental Right to Equality and intends to grant citizenship to a section of illegal immigrants by making an exclusion based on religion.

Parliament cleared the Act which grants citizenship rights to religious minorities such as Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists, who have come to India on or before December 31, 2014.

The then President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, 2019, turning it into an Act.

Also read: Nationalism and Patriotism: Words of ‘Unstable and Explosive Content’

The plea by IUML filed through advocate Pallavi Pratap seeks an interim stay on the operation of CAB and the Foreigner Amendment (Order), 2015, and Passport (Entry Into Rules), Amendment Rules, 2015.

The petition alleged that the government’s CAB was against the basic structure of the Constitution and intended to explicitly discriminate against Muslims as the Act extended benefits only to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians.

The plea filed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said that the Act is a “brazen attack” on core fundamental rights envisaged under the Constitution and treats “equals as unequal”.

In his petition, Ramesh has said that substantial questions of law, including whether religion can be a factor in either acquiring or denying citizenship in India, arises for consideration of the court as it is a “patently unconstitutional” amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955.

“The impugned Act creates two classifications, viz, classification on basis of religion and the classification on the basis of geography, and both the classifications are completely unreasonable and share no rational nexus to the object of the impugned Act i.e., to provide shelter, safety, and citizenship to communities who in their native country are facing persecution on grounds of religion,” the plea has said.

Several petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, including by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.

Several other petitioners include Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, CPI, NGOs ‘Rihai Manch’ and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma, and law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act.

(PTI)

IUML ‘Freezes’ Women’s Wing After Members Refuse to Withdraw Harassment Complaints

Leaders of the women’s wing of the IUML’s students unit have said that they were verbally abused at a state-level meeting in June 2021.

Bengaluru: The members of Haritha, the women’s wing of the Muslim Students’ Federation – which in turn is the students’ wing of the Indian Union Muslim League – has approached the Kerala state women’s commission with complaints of harassment against their peers in the students’ and political body, as well as allegations of inaction against both entities.

On June 22, according to The News Minute, the Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) organised a state leadership meet in Kozhikode. Here, according to Haritha members, MSF leaders called them “infertile feminists”, and that when Haritha members spoke up with their views during the meet, they were told “even prostitutes” have views.

Haritha leaders subsequently approached the leadership of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with complaints about these allegations as well as, The News Minute reported, “serious allegations of sexual harassment”. Specifically, Haritha’s state president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer have accused MSF’s state president P.K. Navas and Malappuram district general secretary V. Abdul Vahab of using vulgar language and of trying to oppress women.

However, IUML reportedly sided with the MSF, failed to act on the allegations and, in the third week of August 2021, froze Haritha. The News Minute stated that IUMF’s response prompted Haritha members to approach the state women’s commission. At this point, IUML attempted to “settle” the issue, according to Indian Express, saying the people who had been objectionable remarks at the Kozhikode meeting in June would “express their regret on social media” and lift the freeze on Haritha.

Shortly after, MSF state president Navas stated: “I have informed the party leaders that I was willing to accept any action on the issue. At the MSF meeting, I didn’t make any malicious comments. If anyone has misunderstood me or has faced any pain over my talk in the meeting, I express my regret.”

But Haritha’s leadership stood its ground and demanded stronger action against the people it had accused. The IUML was not willing, and has since maintained the freeze and accused Haritha’s members of indiscipline.

On September 8, IUML general secretary P.M.A. Salam issued a statement in Malappuram saying that Haritha’s current setup was being dissolved because of its members’ alleged failure to maintain discipline and, he added, the term of the incumbent committee had expired. At least one count of indiscipline, according to Indian Express, is that the members of Haritha refused to withdraw their complaints.

Simultaneously, Shahida Kamala, a member of Kerala’s women’s commission had said Haritha’s leaders were scheduled to meet members of the commission on September 7, but missed their appointment. According to Indian Express, Kamala said:

“They did not appear for the sitting, citing the COVID-19 situation, and wanted to postpone the hearing to the commission’s meeting in Kozhikode next week. Due to the Nipah scare, we don’t know whether the next sitting will be possible in Kozhikode. The complaint was given by three Haritha leaders. But they said around 10 persons wanted to depose before the commission. We are ready to hear them anywhere.”

The IUML is allied with the Congress party in Kerala (Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad). In response to the infighting at IUML, minister of state for external affairs, and a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, V. Muraleedharan, told ANI that IUML’s actions reflect its “anti-women approach”.

IUML Moves SC Against Centre’s Notification Seeking Applications From Non-Muslim Refugees

The plea argues that the Centre is trying to circumvent the assurance given to the top court in the pending petition filed by the IUML challenging CAA’s constitutional validity .

New Delhi: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s notification inviting non-Muslims belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship.

The interim application argued that the Centre is trying to circumvent the assurance given to the apex court in this regard in the pending petition filed by the IUML challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.

It said that the Centre provided assurance that staying of the Amendment Act was not necessary since the rules of the Amendment Act had not been framed.

The CAA grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities – Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian – who migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following persecution over their faith.

The fresh plea said the Union home ministry on Friday issued a notification to this effect for immediate implementation of the order under the Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules framed under the law in 2009 even though the rules under the CAA enacted in 2019 are yet to be framed by the Ministry of Home Affairs is manifestly illegal and runs counter to the provisions of the Act.

Also read: With CAA Rules on Hold, Centre Invites Applications in 13 Districts Under 1955 Parent Act

IUML in its plea before the top court said that the Centre had, during the course of the hearing of its plea challenging the constitutional validity of CAA, submitted before the apex court and provided assurance that staying of the Amendment Act was not necessary since the rules of the Amendment Act had not been framed.

“However, the respondent Union, in a roundabout way, and in an attempt to circumvent the assurance given to this court, have sought to implement their malafide designs envisaged under the Amendment Act through the recently issued order dated May 28,” the plea said.

IUML submitted that if the Centre’s notification is implemented and citizenship is given to persons on the basis of their religion, and, thereafter, if this court strikes down the Amendment Act and Rules, whereby the act of providing citizenship on the basis of religion is declared void, “Then, to take back the citizenship of these persons, granted pursuant to the present order, will be a herculean task and would be near impossible to implement. In the event the said exercise is conducted, it would render the entire batch of writ petitions (challenging CAA) as infructuous,” the plea said.

The petition has sought directions to the Centre to stay any further proceedings pursuant to the May 28 order issued by the Union of India, Ministry of Home Affairs till such time the plea challenging CAA is pending.

Also read: The Lotus in Its Second Spring: How BJP Kept Assam

“In exercise of powers conferred under Section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the central government hereby directs that powers exercisable by it for registration as citizen of India under Section 5, or for grant of certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act 1955 in respect of any person belonging to minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, residing in the districts mentioned and the states mentioned below….,” the home ministry notification said

The apex court in February 2020 sought response of the Centre on a batch of fresh pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the CAA.

The top court, on December 18, 2019 had decided to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA while refusing to stay its operation.

While hearing a batch of petitions, the top court had on January 22, 2020 made it clear that the operation of CAA will not be stayed and gave the government four weeks to respond to the pleas challenging the CAA.

When the CAA was enacted in 2019, there were widespread protests in different parts of the country and even riots took place in Delhi in early 2020 in the wake of these protests.

Kerala Polls: Key Faces to Look Out for on Election Results Day

The state election results are scheduled to be declared on May 2.

New Delhi: In the run-up to the single phase election for 140 assembly seats, Kerala witnessed a fierce campaign led by the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP-led NDA, which hopes to fracture the decades-old bipolar polity led by UDF and LDF. The state election results are scheduled to be declared on May 2.

Here are some of the key candidates to keep an eye out for on May 2.

Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI (M)

The chief-ministerial candidate for the CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan is seeking re-election from his constituency Dharmadam. Since the pandemic hit last year, he has often been referred to as “Kerala’s captain” for handling the outbreak well. He is also known to have managed the aftermath of the devastating floods in 2018 with a spirit of collective combat. This is what the LDF is counting on – good governance – which Vijayan made clear in a campaign speech for the LDF. “Our Kerala has gone through successive disasters, and when people were in despair, we stood by the people,” he said.

After entering politics through student union activities at the Government Brennen College in Thalassery, Vijayan officially joined the CPI(M) at the age of 19. Known as a hardcore communist, he finally became the state’s chief minister in 2016 at the age of 71. He had previously served in the government of Kerala as Minister of Electric Power and Co-operatives from 1996 to 1998. He is also known to rule with an iron fist, as all power in Kerala’s CPI(M) lies with him. He is an Ezhava by caste, the OBC community which forms almost 23% of Kerala’s people. He calls himself a “toddy tapper’s son” – harvesting toddy from palm trees is traditionally done by low-caste communities – and wears his caste identity proudly.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Photo: PTI

Congress-led UDF and the BJP both have targeted the Pinarayi Vijayan government for implementing the 2018 Supreme Court order allowing women to enter the Sabarimala temple. However, local journalists say that Sabarimala is not an electoral issue on the ground level. Serious allegations of corruption have also been leveled against Vijayan such as the gold smuggling scam of 2020, in which the main accused is Swapna Suresh, a woman believed to have links with a former principal secretary of the chief minister’s office. The NIA, ED and custom officials are probing the case. In its two-year progress report in 2018, the CPI(M) claimed that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government had fulfilled more than 500 of its over 600 poll promises mentioned in the election manifesto.

Also read: The 2021 Kerala State Election Will Be Historic. Here’s Why.

Vijayan has shown that he handles crises well. But will that be enough to give him another round in office this time?

He is up against BJP’s former state president C.K. Padmanabhan, UDF candidate C. Raghunath, District Congress Committee secretary, and independent candidate Bhagyavathi, the Walayar sisters’ mother.

Kummanam Rajasekharan, BJP

Former governor of Mizoram, Kummanam Rajasekharan is the BJP’s candidate for Nemom, an important seat in Thiruvananthapuram for the BJP to retain, as it was the only seat the party had managed to win in the previous elections.

Rajasekharan’s performance in this election is being viewed as a possible verdict on whether the BJP has succeeded in making any space in the southern state where the saffron is seen as a third option as a tough fight ensues between CPI(M) led-LDF and Congress-led UDF.  BJP considers Nemom to be its “laboratory” for expansion plans in Kerala, some say. Reason? Rajasekharan’s statement, that “it [Nemom] was the party’s Gujarat and battle for Kerala will begin here,” drawing parallels with BJP’s popularity in Gujarat.

BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan campaigning before the Kerala assembly elections 2021. Photo: Twitter/Kummanam

Currently an administrative member of the Padmanabha Swamy temple, the far-right leader was also the first BJP member from Kerala to become a governor. He started out his political career by joining the RSS and Sangh Parivar in Kerala in 1970, at the early age of 18. Since then, he has been a member of countless Hindu organisations in varying capacities. Between 2015 to 2018, he was appointed state president of the BJP.

Also read: What BJP Votes Will Mean for the Kerala Assembly Elections

In December 2015, a communal statement he gave led to protests in the state. “Vendors from other religions shouldn’t be allowed in temple premises and temple committees could decide on letting vendors from other religions operate at temple premises,” Rajasekharan had said. A police case was registered against him when he circulated a fake video on his social media accounts claiming that CPI(M) men celebrated the murder of an RSS worker. PRISM (People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram), an anti-corruption organisation turned political party in 2018 called him a “radical Hindu leader” and “anti-secular” and demanded – just days after his swearing-in as governor of Mizoram – his removal from office.

CPI(M) has fielded V. Sivankutty, who represented the seat in 2011 before losing it to BJP’s O. Rajagopal in 2016, to take back its former stronghold seat. The Congress candidate for this seat, K. Muraleedharan, a sitting MP from Vadakara, is the son of former chief minister K. Karunakaran, who represented Nemom in 1982.

Noorbeena Rasheed, IUML

Noorbina Rasheed, IUML candidate contesting from Kozhikode South constituency in Malabar is the first woman to be fielded by the IUML party in 25 years. Indian Union Muslim League, an ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala was established in 1948 and is a prominent regional party in the state.

A 72-year-old party with C.H. Mohommed Koya as CM of Kerala for a brief period and representation in the UPA 1 cabinet, as well as the second-largest UDF ally has never had a woman representative in the assembly. The Indian Union Women’s League (IUWL), the women’s wing of the party founded by Rasheed demands representation during every assembly election and it is after 25 years that their demand has been met through Rasheed’s nomination.

Noorbina Rashid

Noorbina Rashid, Indian Union of Muslim League’s candidate from Kozhikode South constituency for the Kerala assembly elections of April 2021. Photo: Twitter.

Noorbina also bats for 50% reservation for women in elections. “Certainly, that needs to be increased. I believe the only way that can be done is through the passage of the women’s reservation bill,” she said. A practicing lawyer, Rasheed had moved to Supreme Court in 2020 against the criminalisation of the triple talaq, becoming the first Muslim woman to do so since the law came into effect in 2019.

She was a member of the Kerala Women’s Commission during the tenure of the UDF government last time.

The seat is a traditional stronghold of the IUML. Noorbina is up against BJP’s Navya Haridas. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded a male candidate, Ahammed Devarkovil, general secretary of the Indian National League (INL).

Watch | Kerala: Can LDF Win Another Term in Office?

Bhagyavathi, Independent

Known as the Walayar sisters’ mother, Bhagyavathi is up against CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadam. She is the mother of the two minor sisters from Walayar in Palakkad, who were mysteriously found dead in their house in a span of less than three months in 2017.

Valayar Bhagyavathi. Photo: eci.gov.in

Bhagyavathi, along with her husband had conducted a series of protests ever since the accused in the case were acquitted by the trial court in 2019. It had also led to a public outcry and state-wide protests in the state. She is contesting the election as a protest over the Kerala government’s “inaction” against those who had been probed in the case. As for the Kerala government, Pinarayi had said that the party had no guilt whatsoever regarding their handling of the case.

Recently in 2021, the case was handed over to the CBI by the Kerala government after the Kerala high court ordered a retrial, observing “serious lapses” in the probe. The court also said that there has been a “miscarriage of justice” in the case.

During her campaign, Bhagyavathi went on a “Neethi Yatra” (journey for justice) from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, demanding action against the accused in her daughters’ case.

“I will contest against Pinarayi Vijayan as an independent. Except for the Sangh Parivar, we will take the support of everyone,” she had announced while speaking to reporters in Thrissur. Besides Vijayan, she is also up against BJP’s former state president C.K. Padmanabhan and UDF candidate C. Raghunath, District Congress Committee secretary.

Between the UDF which waited till the eleventh hour to find a candidate for the seat and the BJP’s Padmanabhan who could manage to get 4.83% of the total votes polled in the 2018 Lok Sabha elections, it seems that Bhagyavathi may provide the real challenge to Pinarayi Vijayan.

Also read: Kerala: Welfarism Remains the Dominant Narrative, but There Is an Undercurrent of Phobia

Aritha Babu, Congress

Twenty-seven-year-old Aritha Babu made headlines for being the youngest candidate of the Congress for the 2021 Kerala assembly elections. Fielded from her native area of Kayamkulam in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, Aritha is contesting against U. Prathiba, CPI(M)’s leading and sitting Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Kayamkulam.

The Congress is banking on her humble background. “She hails from a marginalised community. She sells the milk from her cow every day to make a living and support her family. She spends the rest of her time towards various social and political works. She is the Congress party’s model candidate. The party is proud to field her,” KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran said while introducing her.

Rahul Gandhi campaigns alongside Aritha Babu in Kayamkulam before the Kerala assembly elections 2021. Photo: Twitter/iamvijayvasanth

A post-graduate in Social Works and presently pursuing her Masters in Commerce, Aritha was previously elected to Alappuzha District Panchayat and was the youngest District Panchayat member.

Aritha pushed forward her plans of getting married. “Marriage can wait,” she said. Aritha Babu is an example of attempts by the Congress party in Kerala to decentralise power. Another example is Sobha Subin, Congress candidate from Kaipamangalam in Thrissur. He earned his living as a newspaper delivery boy and a fisherman after being orphaned at a young age when his father was sent to jail for murdering his mother. The CPI (M) has also nominated several such candidates.

Kerala Assembly Polls: Congress Pulls Out All the Stops for a ‘Do-or-Die’ Battle

Despite the fact that it faced a drubbing in last year’s local body polls, the Congress, instead of getting into factionalism this time around, regrouped itself and sharpened its campaign strategy.

Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam: When The Wire reached the election committee office of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Poojappura of Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram, the candidate K. Muraleedharan was addressing a small gathering of Youth Congress workers, briefing them of the tasks to be carried out as part of the campaign.

Nemom has been the cynosure of all eyes in this election, acquiring the attention from across the state and even in the national media, as the UDF has taken it as a do-or-die contest by fielding one of its senior leaders who is also a member of parliament.

It is the first and the only seat that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have in this outgoing assembly. O. Rajagopal, a senior BJP leader and former union minister, had sprung a surprise last time by wresting the seat from the CPI (M) beating the incumbent MLA, V.Sivankutty, thanks to an unbelievably dismal show by the UDF.

Also read: Kerala: Welfarism Remains the Dominant Narrative, but There Is an Undercurrent of Phobia

The UDF candidate only managed to secure 13,860 votes and had to forfeit his deposit amount. The CPI(M) and the Left front had been making it a point that the UDF traded votes with the BJP for their first-ever electoral victory in the history of the Kerala assembly. In the 2011 elections also, the Congress candidate had polled a mere 20,248 votes, allowing the BJP candidate to finish second behind the CPI(M).

It was the Congress high command’s suggestion to field a senior leader from Nemom eyeing the optics – which could effectively counter the “canards” spread by the LDF that the BJP and Congress are playing a friendly match – changed the entire scenario. Former chief minister Oommen Chandy was the first name to be considered for Nemom as the Congress leadership believed that his candidature at Nemom would have an effect on the Muslim votes across the state.

Congress senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala, Oomen Chandy releasing the UDF manifesto. Photo: Twitter/ Ramesh Chennithala.

“Oommen Chandy was willing to contest from Nemom, but considering the risk of losing his sitting seat – where he is an MLA for the last five decades – in his absence, the party decided against it. I have been the MLA of the neighbouring Vattiyoorkkavu for eight years, and I am familiar with the territory which made me the natural choice,” says K. Muraleedharan.

It seemed like he is facing an uphill task, where the Congress party hardly has any organisational strength. Muraleedharan will have to build from the scratch and he knows it very well. “It’s quite natural that the workers getting dejected given the drubbing we got in the last two elections, but things are getting better now and we are already on track in no time. We have left the past behind and this time the UDF will be winning, no matter who ends up second,” he exudes confidence.

If Nemom is to be taken as a cue, it’s evident that both fronts think that championing the anti-BJP tirade is the key to victory in Kerala.

An all-important battle for Congress

After the totally unexpected drubbing in the local body elections, the leaders of the Congress-led UDF toiled it hard to get themselves back on track with some success. Unlike in the past, after an initial blame game, the group/faction managers inside the Congress party understood the danger of letting it go this time as this assembly elections could well be the ‘last bus’ for them.

The first thing they did after the election debacle was to regroup and constitute a high-level committee with former chief minister Oommen Chandy at its helm. The list of candidates also looked fresh as more than 50% of the ‘fighting seats’ were given to the youth and newcomers except for the sitting MLAs.

According to the party leadership, the seat distribution was quiet and eventless, barring the rebellion by Lathika Subhash, the president of the Women’s Congress, who tonsured her head at the KPCC office in protest against the poor representation of women in the Congress’ list.  She is contesting as a rebel candidate from the Ettumanoor constituency of Kottayam district where she also was denied a ticket.

Also read: Model Code of Conduct Is ‘Conveniently Violated’: Kerala CM Writes to EC Against ED Probe

“The way I was sidelined during the election is not an exception but the rule when it comes to women’s representation across the party lines,” says Lathika Subhash. “I was not an ordinary party worker. When I was denied the ticket, I was the state chief of the Mahila Congress. If the Student wing president K M. Abhijith and Youth Congress president Shafi Parambil get tickets naturally, why not the president of the women’s wing?”

The Congress leaders, including A. K. Antony and Oommen Chandy, who had been her mentor for long years shrugged it off as she announced her candidature as an independent.

The subtle swing of the minority votes is the key factor that determines the win-loss equation in Kerala. In the recent local body polls, it is evident that the Christian community votes have been swayed in favour of the LDF, thanks to Kerala Congress (M) jumping the ship after the discord with the UDF over the chairmanship of Kottayam district panchayat.

A resurgent Congress

The erosion of votes in central Kerala, which had been a traditional UDF stronghold, did the undoing of the UDF. At the same time, in the Muslim dominated northern Kerala, the UDF did comparatively well, with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second biggest constituent in the UDF, holding its forts in the Malappuram district in particular. But apart from the district, the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act/National Register of Citizens stance of the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been attracting the Muslim voters too.

This was not the scenario before the local self-government (LSG) elections. The Pinarayi government was reeling under controversies after controversies looming over. The gold smuggling case and the arrest of M. Shivshankar, the principal secretary to the chief minister, have put it on the back foot, but Vijayan weathered it all riding on the popularity of the government, mainly because of the welfare measures and crisis management skills during the repeated disasters from flood to the pandemic.

Even after the LSG polls, there have been many issues for the opposition on which to design their campaign, ranging from the inconclusive gold smuggling case and the recent deep-sea fishing controversy to unemployment and nepotism of the ruling LDF government, but most of the senior UDF leaders seem to be sticking on to the Sabarimala controversy. All most all the leaders and candidates, with an exception of V.T. Balram of Thrithala, who has openly backed women’s entry into the temple, rake up the issue of the government ‘aiding’ women activists to enter the Sabarimala shrine.

“They tried to take women activists to the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala shrine with a police escort to break the rituals. Keralites will never forget it nor forgive him. Pinarayi Vijayan will bear the consequences of it from voters of Kerala on 6 April,” says A. K. Antony, whose words pretty much sum up the campaign by the UDF, which has promised to bring in legislation to protect the tradition and rituals of Sabarimala in its election manifesto. Interestingly the NDA manifesto too makes the same promise.

Kerala Congress

Kerala Congress President Ramesh Chennithala addressing a campaign rally. Photo: Ramesh Chennithala

Even Bindu Krishna, the district Congress committee (DCC) president of Kollam and UDF candidate, who had backed the Supreme Court judgement allowing women’s entry to Sabarimala seems to have mellowed down.

“I am a devotee who has tremendous faith in Sabarimala Ayyappa. I am in favour of women’s entry in Sabarimala, only if it does not contravene the customs or tradition of the temple,” says Bindu when this author met her at Kollam during the lunch break on her campaign trail.

“Those women who entered Sabarimala were not devotees, but activists. Pinarayi Vijayan has hurt the feelings of genuine devotees like me by aiding them to get there with police protection. It is indeed an election issue here,” adds Bindu.

Also read: Is the Anti-CAA Rhetoric Enough for Pinarayi Vijayan to Garner Traditional Muslims’ Support?

No UDF candidates, inclusive of the IUML nominees, are refraining from raking up the Sabarimala issue.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala’s petition to stop the Kerala government from distributing rice to school students, welfare pensions and Easter-Vishu food kits are some of the latest highlights from the UDF’s campaign.

Chief minister Pinarayi has cried foul as the decision was not taken after the model code of conduct came into effect. He asserted that UDF will have to pay dearly for derailing the pro-people measures during the festive season.

On the other hand, Chennithala in his tweet said, “Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should answer to the people on why the rice disbursement was kept pending for last 8 months and why you want to disburse it just before elections. It’s not strange that LDF remembers people only at the eve of elections.”

As the welfare schemes, including the pension for the elderly, becoming the trump card of the Vijayan government, many inside the Congress also are wary about the Opposition Leader’s decision to approach the Election Commission to stall the rice distribution.

“I am not very sure that it was a wise move, at this point in time. Our leaders could have tread carefully on this matter, as the welfare pension and the food kit are very popular among the voters,” says an IUML worker on the condition of anonymity.

The UDF seems to have taken a double-pronged attack, taking on the CPI (M) alleging that it is hurting the feelings of both the Muslim and Hindu community, instead of criticising any governmental inaction and policies.

On the ground, the Congress workers and the IUML leaders are desperately trying anything and everything to hit hard at the government, as they all know this is a do-or-die situation for them.

Rajeev Ramachandran is an independent journalist based in Kochi.

Tamil Nadu: DMK Finalises Seat-Sharing With Allies, to Contest From 186 Seats

In total, 60 segments have been set apart for allies by the DMK.

Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Tuesday inked a pact with Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK), a western Tamil Nadu-based outfit which would contest in three assembly segments on the Dravidian party’s ‘rising sun’ symbol.

By finalising the electoral deal, DMK has concluded seat sharing with allies including the Congress, stealing a march on arch-rival, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which is expected to announce a poll deal for smaller allies. In total, 60 segments have been set apart for allies by the DMK.

Of these 60 segments, Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and four smaller parties would contest on the ‘rising sun’ symbol which works out to a total of 12 segments, and in effect these dozen seats would also be regarded officially as DMK’s constituencies.

As a result, DMK would be in the fray in 186 out of the total 234 assembly seats.

Also read: Tamil Nadu: Vijayakanth’s DMDK Leaves AIADMK-Led NDA Alliance Over Seat Sharing

The AIADMK’s ally Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam walked out of the alliance on Tuesday, and the ruling party has given 23 and 20 seats respectively to its allies the Paattali Makkal Katchi and the BJP.

The Congress has been allotted 25 seats, and six each were allotted for Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and MDMK. The Indian Union Muslim League and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi have been allotted three and two constituencies respectively.

The DMK has been out of power since 2011, and it is leaving no stone unturned to storm back to power. Tamil Nadu will have a single-phase poll on April 6, 2021.

In addition to KMDK, other smaller parties, the Aadhi Tamizhar Peravai, Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi and Makkal Viduthalai Katchi have got one seat each from DMK.

How the Spectre of Hindutva Captured Politics in Kerala

Despite its lack of direct involvement in the state’s politics, the BJP’s actions have captured the state’s agenda and propelled parties to pander to a sense of fearmongering.

Hannah Arendt, a Jew who narrowly escaped Hitler’s final design for the likes of her, points to the moral collapse the political phenomenon Nazism caused not just among the perpetrators, the majority German Christians but also among its victims, the Jews. When fear starts its rule, it disorients and takes away all questions of ethics from everybody around, observed Hannah Arendt.

Kerala, a state often seen to be exceptional, based on achievements in the human development indices and counted as a political antidote to the Indian mainstream, seems to be demonstrating the Arendtian syndrome in the electoral scene, with local body elections just around the corner and assembly elections scheduled for next year.

In the coming local body elections, the United Democratic Front, led by the Indian National Congress with the Indian Union Muslim League as a powerful member, is moving towards closing a deal with the Welfare Party of India, an electoral outfit backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami.

This seemingly minor electoral consideration, which may very well fail to materialise, is symptomatic of what happens to the political imagination under certain circumstances. The Indian Union Muslim League is a regional party in northern Kerala which works for the communitarian empowerment of Muslims through social development. A party of largely subaltern Muslim masses, the league functions like a Muslim BSP or RJD.

As Kerala has historically worked along the lines of community reformation and political consolidation among Nairs, Ezhavas, Christians and Dalits, this model was neither demonised nor rejected – a clear proof of the party’s solid presence in the legislative assembly, with its visionary stalwart leader, C.H. Muhammed Koya having served as the state’s chief minister as well.

Watch | Ponnani: Will the Indian Union Muslim League Lose Its Kerala Stronghold?

One of the key reasons for the general acceptance of Indian Union Muslim League was its categorical opposition to the idea of a theocratic state, which is at the core of the Jamaat-e-Islami’s theoretical framework formulated by Maulana Abul A’ala Maududi. For perspective, the Indian Union Muslim League would be akin to the BJP, if the BJP was categorically opposed to the RSS objective of creating a Hindu rashtra.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, as a party, has never aligned with the Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala, since its foundation in 1948. Moreover, the Jamaat-e-Islami has not only been attacking Indian Union Muslim League all these decades as an organisation but has also questioned its attempts to become a part of the mainstream, which according to JEI’s world view, is apologetic. So, this alliance, if finalised despite opposition, will be the first of its kind.

With the ideological incompatibility persisting, how did the IUML and JIH, which many fear will give political legitimacy to the JIH and change the very character of Indian Union Muslim League, begin to coalesce around a shared electoral adjustment?

One answer might be the fear prevalent in the minds of Malayali Muslims. Unlike the North Indian lower class Muslims and their ethical assertion after Shaheen Bagh and other movements surrounding anti-CAA events, where constitutional nationalism emerged as a clear way forward, Kerala’s largely middle class, politically solid and economically strong Muslim community is apprehensive, even though the BJP has only one MLA and no MP in the state. Though Islamists are demographically minuscule and irrelevant, their space in political discussions in Kerala has increased with the rise of Hindutva.

The fear that in Modi’s India, Muslims will go through a degradation – which will eventually lead to an ethnic cleansing – is being felt and responded to frantically in the state. This fear has brought in an overwhelming sentiment that Muslims must band together, without questioning fundamental ideological differences or raising ethical issues. While the Kerala Jamaat-e-Islami in no way poses a threat anywhere close to the ones in Pakistan and Bangladesh, it raises a crucial ethical conundrum: how does one oppose religious nationalism by using another sort of religious nationalism?

The youth wings of the most powerful religious organisations of Kerala Muslims, Samastha Kerala Sunni Student Federation and different sections of Kerala Nadwathul Mujahideen, have adopted a very strong position against the Indian Union Muslim League going into any alliance with a religio-political party like the Jamaat-e-Islami. This ethical stand against Islamism has been second nature to these organisations and they have always succeeded due to their much larger popular base.

Also read: Sabarimala Verdict: A Godsend for the Hindutva Brigade

But even so, these organisations are struggling this time due to the shift in the political environment, controlled by Hindutva and the resultant fear that politicians are trying to exploit. If they do manage to convince the Indian Union Muslim League and the United Democratic Front, led by Indian National Congress, to retract from these discussions, it will be a huge ethical win for the idea of secular democracy.

Nationally, the Indian National Congress stands to lose significantly from such an alliance since the Jamaat-e-Islami has been associated with a tarnished reputation – it was banned along with the RSS, by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency.

Maulana Maududi’s conviction by a Pakistani court for involvement in the anti-Ahmadi riots and his supporter’s role in the Bangladesh genocide have also not helped the organisation’s reputation.

Till the Welfare Party denounces Maulana Maududi theoretically (practically they actually have, since 1977) and rejects his brand of Muslim majoritarianism categorically, this impression is likely to stay. But the cynical state Congress leaders are only interested in consolidating power in their region with alarming short-sightedness. Congress leaders are trying to balance out an Islamist alliance by visiting Hindutva leaders and making pro-Hindutva statements (Congress Hindu and Muslim leaders seem to take turns for this)!

The Communist Party of India Marxist, the ruling party of the state, is also not free from such fears and missteps. In the IUML and JEI alliance, it sees an opportunity to whip up fear amongst Hindus and play soft Hindutva card against the perceived consolidation of Muslims.

Sabarimala, BJP, Sabarimala entry, Sabarimala news, Supreme Court, Supreme Court on Sabarimala

A protest against the Supreme Court’s Sabarimala verdict in Chikmagalur on October 31. Credit: PTI

The CPIM is paranoid about the BJP’s consolidated and powerful propaganda tools, perceived media witch-hunts into corruption cases and the Congress’s ploy to make the CPIM appear to be anti-Hindu when the issue of entry into the Sabarimala temple was at its height. Through an alliance with the Kerala Congress, the Christian variant of the IUML, and the use of Hindutva rhetoric, the CPIM is hoping to stay hold its ground during elections.

The common thread amongst the parties involved is that they are all pandering to fear, with a sense of victimhood and are cynically trying to retain their constituencies while burning all bridges around.

Also read: BJP Won’t Capture Kerala Yet But RSS Culture Is Sweeping the State

Between these three, the BJP now has no ground or organisational capacity to intervene in. While the party looks strangely innocuous in Kerala’s scheme of things, its impact in the state cannot be understated. The BJP’s agenda has taken over political imagination and destabilised the parties in the state to the point that they are doing exactly what the BJP, in the long run, would want them to.

The people of Kerala have the possibility to create a new political culture, actualising constitutional nationalism, furthering the rich Kerala legacy of inclusivism and proposing a whole new way of being in the techno-global givens for India. But led by fear and selfishness, the state seems to be on a slippery slope towards ethical degeneration.

If not identified and stopped now, when these changes at the deep structural level come up on top, there might be a very different state to reckon with!

N. P. Ashley teaches English at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.

‘Not Surprised by Priyanka Gandhi’s Words on Ram Temple’, Says Pinarayi Vijayan

Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday had expressed hope that the foundation stone laying ceremony “becomes a celebration of national unity, brotherhood and cultural harmony”.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that he was not surprised by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s statement on the ‘bhoomi pujan‘ ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He added that the country would not have been facing such a situation today if Congress had taken a “definite stand” on secularism.

He said the Congress party’s stand in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue is a part of history and that the grand old party had remained a “mute spectator” while the mosque was destroyed.

Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday had expressed hope that the foundation stone laying ceremony “becomes a celebration of national unity, brotherhood and cultural harmony”.

Also read: Demolition Men Do Not Build Nations, They Destroy Them

For ages Lord Ram’s character has served as a source of unity for the entire Indian subcontinent, she had said.

“I am not surprised by Priyanka Gandhi’s stand in this matter. The Congress party’s stand during Rajiv Gandhi and then Narasimha Rao’s regime are all part of history. If Congress had a definite stand on secularism, the country would not have been facing such a situation today,” the chief minister told reporters.

Asked for his reaction on the foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi he said that the state was now worried about overcoming COVID-19 and would worry about such things later.

“Today, COVID-19 cases in the country has crossed the 19 lakh mark. We need to think about how to overcome this pandemic. We also need to worry about how we would support those who are financially affected due to this pandemic.”

“The state government is trying to take steps to mitigate the sufferings of the people. We will think about such things first and the rest of the matter later,” the chief minister said.

He said both Priyanka and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi always had a “soft Hindutva stand”.

“Who allowed the worship inside the Babri masjid? It was Congress. Who allowed shilanyas? It was the Congress government…”

“Above all, who sat idle when the masjid was destroyed by the Sangh Parivar? It was the Congress Prime Minister Narasimha Rao-led central government…It was the Congress which stood as a mute spectator while Babri Masjid was destroyed,” Vijayan said.

Vijayan also said that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a coalition partner of opposition UDF, was also closely associated with the Congress during all this time.

The state Congress is yet to make clear its stand on Priyanka’s statement while a miffed IUML passed a resolution expressing its displeasure.

Watch | Ponnani: Will the Indian Union Muslim League Lose Its Kerala Stronghold?

The Indian Union Muslim League has been winning this Lok Sabha seat every time since 1977, but recent events might change that.

In this special report from the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency, Sadak Se Sansad speaks to the people from the area about their issues. The Indian Union Muslim League has been winning this Lok Sabha seat every time since 1977, but recent events might change that.

Watch the full video to find out if the tide is going to turn for the IUML.