Thiruvananthapuram: Panakkad Sayed Munavarali Shihab Thangal, state president of the Muslim Youth League, the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), said on September 12 that his party would not agree to the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme in Kerala.
Speaking in Thiruvananthapuram, Munavarali Thangal said the Muslim Youth League would not allow such a proposal to be implemented in the state. He added that State Education Minister N. Shamsudheen was not confused on the issue and that the party was waiting for the report of the Cabinet Sub-Committee.
The Muslim Youth League has already made its opposition to the implementation of PM SHRI in Kerala clear at various conferences, Munavarali Thangal said.
Munavarali Thangal is a prominent youth leader of the IUML and the son of late Sayed Muhammedali Shihab Thangal, who served as the IUML state president and died in 2009.
Earlier, the Muslim Student Federation (MSF), the student wing of the IUML, had also opposed the PM SHRI scheme. MSF state president Sharafudheen Pilakkal said his organisation would not allow PM SHRI to be implemented in Kerala and that no party could dream of implementing it.
Addressing a leaders’ meeting, Pilakkal had also said that the IUML would not change its stand even when the government changes after elections.
The opposition to PM SHRI is also being viewed in the wider context of the IUML’s political position on schemes and initiatives associated with the Central government.
Critics of argue that the IUML and its allies have consistently opposed initiatives when their association with the Central government, particularly the BJP-led NDA government, is seen as politically significant or when the benefits are projected as Central rather than state government initiatives.
The argument assumes greater significance in the case of PM SHRI, as the Muslim League, a major partner in Kerala’s ruling UDF, is now opposing the scheme on the ground that it represents a Central government agenda.
Critics contend that such opposition also reflects the broader political and ideological differences between the Muslim League and the BJP-led NDA, particularly where government schemes are perceived to have implications beyond their stated administrative objectives.
The issue also comes amid other instances cited by the party’s critics to highlight the political influence of the IUML in Kerala.
A few days ago, Muslim League MLA P.K. Firos had said that he spoke to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and sought the withdrawal of the case registered against Dr Abdulla Basil. The case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by TV channel anchor Aparna Kurup.
According to Firos, Chennithala directed the authorities to suspend further police action against Dr Abdulla Basil. Firos had said that the Muslim League had come to power to do such things.
The latest statements from Munavarali Thangal and Pilakkal therefore reinforce the IUML’s position that PM SHRI should not be implemented in Kerala, while also bringing the scheme into the broader political contest over initiatives associated with the Central government and the BJP-led NDA.
