Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 25 (PTI) Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday accused Chief Minister V D Satheesan and the UDF of doing “Sangh Parivar seva” by agreeing to implement the amended Waqf Act, allowing the appointment of non-Muslims to the Waqf board.
Vijayan alleged that the UDF and Satheesan “openly surrendered” to the Sangh Parivar and toed its agenda.
The allegations were made by the CPI(M) veteran at a press conference in response to the CM’s recent remarks accusing Vijayan of attempting to turn the Muslim community against the UDF government through “communal remarks” over the Waqf board appointments issue.
“The leader of opposition made incorrect, communal remarks to spread communalism and turn the Muslim community against the government. Such attempts by the opposition leader or the CPI(M) to blame the government on the issue will not succeed,” the CM had said at a press conference here recently.
“It was his (Vijayan’s) government that stated that non-Muslims would be appointed to the board. It is on record. We said we would constitute the board taking into consideration the averments made in the petitions before the High Court, but the pleas should be dismissed,” he added.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Vijayan said the UDF government and the chief minister had turned Kerala into the “first state to accept the amended Waqf Act which mandates inclusion of non-Muslims on the Board.” The former chief minister said: “This is clear Sangh Parivar seva, and it has been seen by everyone. So, he (the CM) started making baseless statements against me. The LDF government had always upheld the religious freedom guaranteed under the Constitution. I had taken that stand when I was CM and continue to do so. I have not changed that.” He said the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution during the LDF rule opposing the Waqf Act amendments. However, he alleged that the current UDF government and the CM had “surrendered before the Sangh Parivar agenda” by moving ahead with it.
“Should a Congress CM take the same stand as that of the BJP?” Vijayan asked.
He said that when the new Waqf board was constituted in February 2026, the then LDF government had kept vacant the two positions meant for non-Muslims.
“If we wanted to implement the Act, we could have appointed non-Muslims. But we did not. The LDF government also took up the legal fight against the amended Act. These are the facts. But the CM has closed his eyes to these facts. He also made misleading statements. Such acts do not suit a CM,” Vijayan contended.
He said the CM had accused him of making communal statements, while he had only reiterated the UDF’s earlier stand against the amended Waqf Act in Parliament before it came to power in Kerala.
“So, is anyone who opposes the inclusion of non-Muslims in the board a communal person? Is that the stand of the CM?” he asked, alleging that the UDF had made a clear “U-turn” on the implementation of the amended Waqf Act.
Vijayan said that if questioning the alleged “u-turn” by the UDF amounts to a “communal move or minority appeasement,” then it appears that the chief minister is speaking in the same language as the BJP.
He also alleged that terming as communal the strong concerns among the minorities about the amended Waqf Act is “clear Sangh Parivar politics”.
He further alleged that though the UDF government had other options, it decided to implement section 14 of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act which mandates inclusion of non-Muslims.
“The legal fight against it is still going on. The Supreme Court is yet to give a final verdict on the issue. The government volunteered in court to implement section 14 of the Act. This is a clear stand in favour of the Sangh Parivar,” he alleged.
He also termed as baseless and incorrect the CM’s claim that Kerala was the first to constitue a Waqf Board after the amendment of the Waqf Act.
“Tamil Nadu was the first state to constitute a Board after the amendment of the Waqf Act,” he asserted.
Vijayan also asserted that neither the previous LDF government nor the current State Waqf Board has undertaken before any court that non-Muslims would be included in the statutory body.
He was referring to Satheesan’s claim that the Waqf Board undertook in the apex court to include non-Muslims on the board. PTI HMP SSK HMP VGN
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