Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's Minority Welfare Minister N. Samsudheen said on Tuesday that a consensus had been reached with Muslim factions unhappy over their lack of representation in the reconstituted State Waqf Board, and that the Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar faction would get a member on the board.
Samsudheen said all factions could not be represented because two or three posts were meant for the general category. Later in the day, he said the concerns of the Kanthapuram faction of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama would be resolved by including a member of that group. He announced this after a meeting with its representatives but did not clarify how the process would be carried out.
The Kanthapuram faction told reporters it had decided to call off its agitations in view of the assurance. Earlier, the minister said the government had no intention of excluding anyone, and that those who could not be included would be considered for other committees, such as minority welfare and Haj.
The Kerala government last Friday dissolved the Waqf Board headed by K.S. Hamsa, constituted by the previous LDF government in March, and appointed a new nine-member board despite more than four years remaining in the old board's tenure. The new board is headed by IUML leader M.C. Mayin Haji.
Samsudheen said the Kerala High Court approved of the reconstituted board and did not interfere despite two petitions challenging it. He claimed a consensus had been arrived at but declined to disclose details.
Meanwhile, reports said internal disagreements had surfaced within the ruling Congress-led UDF, less than five months after it took power.