He said there was no question of his party deviating from its responsibility to strengthen the Congress-led alliance in Kerala.
IUML chief Panakkad Thangal and his nephew, Munivarali Shihab Thangal, Kerala president of the party's youth league, at their home in Malappuram. (KA Shaji/South First)
There was no question of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) deviating from its responsibility to strengthen the Congress-led alliance — the UDF — in Kerala, the party’s state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said on Monday, 20 November.
He said that the party had numerous reasons to remain in its alliance with the UDF. Thangal was addressing the party’s Wayanad district council camp in Sultan Bathery.
His statement came amid an alleged bid by the CPI(M)-led LDF to woo the key Congress ally into its fold.
Days after IUML MLA and its Malappuram district general secretary P Abdul Hameed was nominated to the Left-controlled board of directors of the Kerala State Co-operative Bank, now called the Kerala Bank, Thangal said that it did indicate a shift in the alliance.
Highlighting the party’s role in ensuring unity and cooperation within the UDF coalition, the IUML leader also rejected the speculation of a possible association with the LDF.
In an embarrassment for the UDF, one of its key members participated in the Left government’s outreach programme, the Nava Kerala Sadas, on Sunday, despite the Opposition alliance boycotting the event.
IUML state general council member NA Abubakar not only participated in the morning session of the programme but was also seen sitting next to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, adding fuel to the speculation that the League might switch over to the LDF by ending its several-decade-old alliance with the Congress.
After participating in it, Abubakar told reporters that it was not an issue of the UDF or the IUML.
“I wanted to bring to the attention of the chief minister some problems related to education and national highways. I have done that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Congress claimed that the outreach programme had become a stage for politically denouncing and criticising the Opposition at the state’s expense.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said that no one talks about politics in government programmes, but only politics was being discussed in the Nava Kerala Sadas.
He also termed the programme a “failure” as neither could people meet the chief minister or ministers and hand over complaints directly to them nor were their issues resolved.
“The crowd at the programme was of those who were compelled or forced to be there,” he alleged.
The Congress and the BJP have criticised Vijayan and the ruling CPI(M) over the conduct of the Nava Kerala Sadas amidst a financial crisis. They dubbed the month-long outreach programme as “sheer extravagance”.
(With PTI inputs)
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