Oppn Leaders Seek Recall of Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Patel Over 'Anti-People' Policies

A number of Opposition leaders from Lakshadweep and Kerala have sought President Ram Nath Kovind’s intervention and recall of administrator Praful Khoda Patel alleging that his anti-people policies and unilateral decisions have led to an unrest among islanders. Patel who is the Administrator of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, was given charge of Lakshadweep following the demise of Dineshwar Sharma in December last year. He is a former BJP MLA from Gujarat.

Besides Lakshadweep MP, NCP’s Mohammed Faizal, his colleagues from neighbouring Kerala — Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M), TN Prathapan (Congress) and ET Mohammed Basheer (Muslim League) have written to the Centre over the issue.

They alleged that Patel unilaterally lifted restrictions on the use of alcohol in the Muslim-majority islands, banned beef products, citing Animal Preservation and demolished fishermen’s sheds built on the coastal areas, saying they violated the Coast Guard Act. Congress MP KC Venugopal also sought the President’s intervention into the widespread protests by the people of the country’s tiniest Union territory due to Patel’s “authoritarian measures”.

The BJP said the protests were a result of his efforts to end “corrupt practices” involving local politicians prevalent and usher in development there.

In his letter to Kovind, Kareem said Patel’s move seemed to have an “ulterior motive to destroy the traditional life and cultural diversity of the island”. The Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala said Lakshadweep was free from COVID-19 till December 2020, but a large number of cases were reported due to the wrong policies adopted by the administrator. According to officials, Lakshadweep has reported over 6,500 Covid cases and 24 deaths so far.

The MP said all the regulations that have been promulgated since his assuming office are without an iota of consideration towards the people or their choice of food and livelihood. “The undemocratic and anti-people regulation in the name of Animal Preservation, which intends to ban slaughter, transportation, selling or buying of beef products, is one among such orders. This is a blatant onslaught on the people, who depend upon dairying and growing of bovines as a means of livelihood. Neither the island community nor the local bodies on the island ever raised such a demand and they were never consulted during such regulations being framed,” Kareem said in the letter.

He said the administration has also decided that the islanders should no longer rely on Beypore port in Kerala for freight transit. “Instead, they should depend on Mangalore port in Karnataka for this purpose. The decision will also adversely affect Beypore, which has been closely associated with the island for decades”, he said and alleged that the decision was aimed at cutting Lakshadweep’s ties with Kerala.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there is reportedly a deliberate malicious attempt to distort the connection between his state and the Union territory. “This is part of narrow interest, It is condemnable. Those concerned should retract from such actions.”

Faizal said the administrator was coming up with “anti-people” draft notifications at a time when the people were not in a position to even react to it because of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the islands.

He urged the President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to appoint a permanent administrator. “We need a permanent administrator who should be people friendly and any development activities should be within the ambit of the integrated island management plan that is being framed with the guidance of the Supreme Court,” he said.

The NCP MP alleged that Patel signed orders to retrench some 200 contract staff who were working as marine watchers for conserving marine biodiversity. The post was sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, for which separate funds have been earmarked.

Muslim League MP from Kerala, Basheer said the administration with trying to implement the Goondas Act in the islands, “which always has an innocent face.”

Film actor Prithviraj Sukumaran said he was receiving “desperate messages” from people he knows in Lakshadweep, pleading with him to draw the attention of the public to the issues there. “How does disrupting the way of life of a centuries old peaceful settlement become an acceptable means of progress? How will threatening the balance of a very delicate island ecosystem with no regard for the potential consequences pave the way for sustainable development?,” he asked in a tweet.

BJP national vice president AP Abdullakutty, the party’s prabhari in Lakshadweep, said the opposition MPs were protesting as Patel took certain steps to end the “corrupt practices” of politicians in the islands. Claiming that the local people were happy with the administration, he alleged that an atmosphere of tension has been created through the media and social media by certain fundamentalist groups operating from Kerala.

“Unfortunately, these MPs are playing to the tunes of such outfits without realising the truth,” said Abdullakutty.

(With PTI inputs)

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