Resentment brews against Lakshadweep administration

As resentment brews against the Lakshadweep administration over a series of decisions of administrator Praful Patel, political party leaders and other known personalities are condemning the decisions and demanding his removal. A 'Save Lakshadweep' campaign has gone viral on social media.

While two Rajya Sabha MPs from Kerala, Elamaram Kareem of the CPM and Binoy Viswam of the CPI, have urged President Ramnath Kovind to terminate service of administrator Patel who is being widely accused of worsening the Covid situation on the island and trying to impose Hindutva agenda, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged of attempts to sabotage the good relations between Lakshadweep and Kerala and demanded the authorities to keep off from such attempts.

While the island managed to keep Covid at bay through effective quarantine measures and screening of those entering the island during the initial months, now Lakshadweep is under the grip of Covid with around 4,000 cases and around 20 deaths. This is allegedly after Patel relaxed the norms after taking over as the administration in December last year. Patel, a former BJP leader, was also accused of demolishing the storage huts of fishermen, implementing Goonda Act and taking off non-vegetarian dishes from school diets.

Viswam said in the letter to the President that the administration's decision to allow liquor licences under the guise of tourism promotion and individual freedom was taken by ignoring the socio-cultural context of the region where 96 per cent population was from the Muslim community. The draft panchayat regulations making persons with more than two children ineligible to contest panchayat elections is another sinister move to disenfranchise the people, alleged Viswam.

Kareem said in the letter to the President that moves like ban on slaughter and beef ban were being made without an iota of consideration towards the people or their choice of food and livelihood. Hundreds of workers in the island even lost jobs and many Anganwadi's were closed.

Vijayan told reporters that people of Lakshadweep were having a strong bonding with Kerala as they depend on Kerala for many needs and the present moves could be seen only as an attempt to destabilise the culture and life of the people and sabotage the bonding with Kerala.

Actor Prithviraj, said that over the last few days he was getting desperate messages from people in the island with whom he was having a good relation as he had spend considerable time there in connection with film shootings. He said that when an entire community was unhappy with decision taken by the authorities and were vociferously bringing it to the attention of the world there was not other way other than to act on it.

Congress MP K C Venugopal also urged the President to recall Patel, accusing him of imposing authoritarian measures and thereby disturbing the livelihood and culture of the island. He also alleged that the BJP leader was urging the islanders to depend on Mangalore port for freight movement which is now being done from Beypore in Kerala. The move is aimed at severing the age-old cultural ties with Kerala, he alleged