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HomeIndiaRahul Gandhi writes to PM on Lakshadweep, calls draft regulations anti-people, anti-democratic

Rahul Gandhi writes to PM on Lakshadweep, calls draft regulations anti-people, anti-democratic

In an open letter to PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi urged him to withdraw the regulations that are 'draconian' and penalise 'dissent and undermine grassroots democracy'.

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New Delhi: Terming the controversial draft regulations proposed by the Lakshadweep administration as “anti-people” and “draconian”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently intervene in the matter Thursday.

In an open letter to PM Modi, Gandhi urged him to withdraw the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021, proposed by the island union territory’s administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

Gandhi said that under the guise of development and maintaining law and order in the UT, which has a low crime rate, the “draconian regulations penalise dissent and undermine grassroots democracy”.

“The administrator’s attempt to undermine ecological sanctity of the Island is evident in the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation issued recently. The provisions undermine safeguards pertaining to land ownerships, dilute environmental regulations for certain activities and limit legal resources available to affected persons,” he wrote.

Gandhi accused Patel of unilaterally proposing “sweeping changes without duly consulting elected representatives or the public”.

He also claimed that the Animals Preservation Regulations act and lifting of restrictions on sale of alcohol was a “deliberate assault on the cultural and religious fabric of the local community”.

“The attempt to cut ties with Beypore port strikes at the close historical and cultural ties with Kerala,” he added.

Gandhi further noted: “It is pertinent to mention that despite the pandemic, the administration demolished structures used by the fisherfolk, fired contractual workers in various government departments, and relaxed quarantine norms that led to a lethal spike in Covid cases.”

The Congress had earlier also demanded the removal of the Lakshadweep administrator Praful Patel.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar had also written to the PM Wednesday, and said the decisions taken by the administrator were “unwarranted and irrational”. Eight members of the BJP’s youth wing, Yuva Morcha, from Lakshadweep have already quit the party over the growing unrest.


Also read: ‘He is destroying the island’: Administrator Praful Khoda Patel now faces a row in Lakshadweep


What are these controversial regulations

Some of the controversial measures of the draft include allocation of power to the administrator to evict or relocate anyone who is found to occupy land under a final scheme formulated under the proposed law, for town planning or any developmental activity.

Furthermore, under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA), introduced in January 2021, a person can be detained without any public disclosure for a period of up to one year and the draft panchayat notification, where a member with more than two children is disqualified from being a member.

It also includes a ban on slaughter, transportation, and selling or buying of beef product in the Muslim-dominated Lakshadweep under the draft law in the name of ‘animal preservation’ and also introduces an Anti-Goonda Act despite a low crime rate on the islands.

Patel also gave his nod for businesses to open liquor bars in the island, thus lifting the ban on alcohol, stating that such a move will promote tourism.


Also read: Zero cases in 2020 to nearly 5,000 now — how Covid-free Lakshadweep got infected by virus


 

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