Kasaragod: Five key office-bearers of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the students’ outfit of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), have resigned from the Kasaragod district committee amid growing differences within the organisation.

District treasurer Sarfaraz Bantiyod, vice-presidents Jamsheer Mogral and Murshid Mogral, and secretaries Bilal Arikady and Ansar Vorkady have stepped down from their posts, triggering a leadership crisis in the district unit.

According to sources, the five leaders resigned in protest against the manner in which the district representative to the MSF state committee was selected.

The resigning office-bearers have alleged that the district president and general secretary took unilateral decisions on organisational matters, overriding decisions taken by the district council.

They have specifically alleged that former district general secretary Sawad Angadimugar was excluded from consideration for the post of district representative to the state committee, despite the district council having discussed and taken a decision on the matter.

According to the five leaders, the district leadership proceeded with subsequent steps without adhering to the suggestions and decisions raised and taken at the council meeting.

The resignation letters reportedly criticised the current district leadership for taking organisational decisions without properly communicating with district office-bearers or holding collective discussions.

The five leaders said it was unacceptable for a few individuals to take decisions without consulting office-bearers at different levels of the organisation and taking into account the views of its workers.

They said they were resigning because they could no longer function under a leadership that, in their view, was bypassing the organisation’s democratic system and decisions of the district council.

Call to check factional activities
The resigning office-bearers also called for measures to prevent factional activities from gaining strength within the organisation.

They demanded that a democratic style of functioning be restored, with the views of workers and suggestions from lower-level units given due consideration.

They also criticised the district leadership for attempting to settle differences through unilateral decisions instead of holding collective discussions among the office-bearers.

The growing dissatisfaction over these issues is believed to have culminated in the simultaneous resignations.

The five office-bearers include the district treasurer, two vice-presidents and two secretaries, making the mass resignation a significant setback for the MSF’s Kasaragod district leadership.

The resigning leaders have demanded that the district council's decisions be given due importance and that organisational differences be resolved through discussions and collective consultations.

Meanwhile, the district president and general secretary have not yet responded to the allegations raised by the five office-bearers.