Consensus reached with Muslim factions over Waqf Board representation, says Samsudheen

Kerala Minority Welfare Minister N Samsudheen on Tuesday said a consensus had been reached with various Muslim factions that had expressed displeasure over their lack of representation in the reconstituted State Waqf Board.

Following a meeting with representatives of the Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar faction of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, Samsudheen said the concerns of the group would be addressed by including one of its members in the Board.

The faction subsequently announced that it would call off its agitation in view of the assurance given by the minister. However, Samsudheen did not clarify how the inclusion would be effected.

Earlier in the day, the minister said the government had no intention of excluding any faction but could not accommodate everyone in the Board as some positions were reserved for the general category.

He said those who could not be accommodated in the Board would be considered for representation in other bodies, including committees dealing with minority welfare and Haj affairs.

“That is the stand of the Department, party and the UDF,” he said, adding that a consensus had been reached. He, however, declined to disclose further details.

The minister's announcement came a day after Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal convened a meeting with leaders representing various factions of the Muslim community.

Samsudheen also maintained that the Kerala High Court had not intervened in the reconstitution of the Board despite two petitions challenging the move, indicating that the government had acted in accordance with the law.

“As we reconstituted it according to the law, everyone could not be included in it,” he said.

The Kerala government dissolved the Waqf Board headed by K S Hamsa last Friday and appointed a new nine-member Board, replacing the one constituted by the previous LDF government in March this year. The decision came despite more than four years remaining in the previous Board's tenure.

The new Board is headed by IUML leader M C Mayin Haji. Its other members are IUML leader and MLA Kurukkoli Moideen, Musthafa Faizi, Siras D Capsi, Thodiyoor Muhammed Kunju Maulavi, Sajna Firoz, Jaseem Sabaha, Dr Abdul Majeed Swalahi and C Madina Begham.