Kerala government puts on hold decision to handover Waqf appointments to PSC
After the meeting the chief minister said the government was in no hurry to implement the Act
Thiruvananthapuram: Under pressure from Muslim organisations, the LDF Government in Kerala has decided to put on hold its decision to hand over the recruitments to the Waqf Board to Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).
A delegation of prominent Muslim outfit Samastha Kerala Jamait Ul Ulema called on chief minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday to demand the withdrawal of the government's decision. After the meeting the chief minister said the government was in no hurry to implement the Act.
However, he did not give any commitment on withdrawing the Act but agreed to have wide ranging discussions with different Muslim groups. The Kerala PSC(Additional Functions As Respects the Services Under the Waqf Board )Act 2021 was passed in Kerala Assembly less than a month ago and the government was keen on implementing it at the earliest.
Several Muslim organisations raised state wide protests against government forcing it to freeze the decision for the moment
The government decision comes at time when various Muslim organisations including Muslim League were planning a state wide massive joint protest.
The government's decision to keep the Act in abeyance comes before the completion of one month of State Assembly passing the bill. The House passed the bill on November 9 and subsequently Governor gave the assent to the Bill and the gazette notification was published on November 14.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who till now had totally ruled out the roll back of decision, said in a statment that the government was not adamant and open to further discussoins.
The government is trying to steer clear of the controversy maintaining that the decision to hand over Waqf Board appointments to the PSC was that of the Board . However, it chose to invite only the delegation of Samastha to discuss the matter.
The government has managed to avert a major agitation by Muslim organisations with the help of Samastha. The government will not make special rules for handing over Waqf appointments to the PSC.
Other decisions like constitution of a Waqf Recruitment Board would be discussed in the meetings to be held soon.
Meanwhile, minorities welfare minister V Abdul Rahman said it was Waqf Board's decision to hand over the recruitment to the PSC. He lauded the stand taken by the Samastha in resolving he issue through discussions.
He accused the Muslim League of approaching the issue with a political objective. The League's campaign against the government is politically motivated.
The minister said the Muslim League should refrain from scoring brownie points over the issue and co-operate with the government to find an amicable solution.