By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
Kozhikode: The Indian Union Muslim League [IUML] state General Secretary KPA Majeed has termed the state Congress leadership’s [KPCC’s] opposition to providing aided status to 33 minority schools in Malabar as absurd and meaningless.
The party, which is a major ruling ally of the state UDF government, has made it clear that they want a decision to be taken over the row with in the next state ministerial meeting.
No one in the state objected, when the government provided aided status to 11 schools [out of which 10 were owned by trusts belonging to majority community] outside Malabar region with in six months of the inception of the UDF government.
Those people who were silent on such occasions, are now pointing out the caste/religious factors with regards to granting aided status to minority owned schools in Malabar, Majeed told TCN on phone. He even accused the Congress party of creating caste distinctions in the educational sector of the state.
In the last ministerial level meeting the Muslim League ministers stood firm on their demand and the state Financial Minister KM Mani and Transport and Power Resources Minister Aryadan Muhammed registered their objection pointing out that it will create an extra liability of one crore rupees.
Replying to the League General Secretary’s statement, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee [KPCC] President Ramesh Chennithala said that Congress is not ready to make any change in their stand regarding aided status to schools in Malabar.
It is believed that unlike earlier controversies where IUML chose to keep silent over the communally targeted attacks from a few elite class corners within the Congress party, the League leadership this time has decided to come up in public and expose the fake secular masks of a few congress leaders who are carrying out the elite class - Nair Service Society [NSS] agendas in the state administration and within party circles.
Aided status to these schools in Malabar was listed in the UDF election manifesto and any attempt to violate it over a few vested caste interests will not be allowed at any cost, said the League General Secretary.
“IUML is committed to resist any conspiracies in this regard. We have complete faith that a governmental decision will be taken in the next ministerial meeting itself with regards to providing complete salaries including all benefits to teachers in this schools. Soon after this a decision will be taken on granting aided status to these schools in accordance to what was told in the UDF election manifesto,” he asserted.
It is believed that the Nair Service Society [NSS] keen on bringing in, the present KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala to a top governmental post is on the way devising further anti-minority agendas by providing communal colours to this genuine demand from the part of IUML ministers. They have been since long making similar attempts to create a wrong impression that the Muslim community is gaining undue advantage with IUML being an influential ally in the UDF government.
Through such malicious smear campaigns, the NSS have until now turned successful in pressurising the congress state leadership to carry out soft Hindutva policies with in the state administrative functions as well as the KPCC organisational setup.
The state finance ministry’s opposition to the demand has been observed as on the basis of the interests of a few elite class bureaucrats within the state finance department and as lacking any scientific base.
IUML has made some estimations of how much it would cost for the state treasury to grant aided status to these 33 schools. The League ministers are expected to strongly put forward these claims in the next state ministerial meeting taking it as a prestige issue.