T’puram: Leader of opposition Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the UDF govt’s decision to dissolve the waqf board governing committee, chaired by K S Hamsa, before the completion of its term and demanded that the decision be revoked.“The state govt has no legal authority to disband an existing committee before its tenure ends. When the LDF came to power in 2016, it upheld democratic norms by allowing the board led by IUML’s Rasheed Ali Thangal to complete its term instead of dismissing it, a courtesy the UDF has not shown,” Vijayan said.The issue before the high court concerned reconstituting the board to include certain categories of members under the new Waqf Amendment Act, he said.“Unlike the previous govt, which maintained that the matter would be decided after the Supreme Court case was concluded, the UDF govt has taken a different path. Its actions undermine the state’s position in court against the central amendment to the waqf law,” Vijayan said.He said that the UDF govt initially adopted the dangerous stance that non-Muslims could be appointed to the waqf board. “It softened that position only after being caught betraying the community. Remarks made by the new chairperson regarding non-Muslim representation are also extremely serious,” Vijayan said.“The high court did not direct that the waqf board be dissolved. What the state govt has now done is unlawfully dismantle the board before the end of its term. By misreading the high court’s observation and using it to justify the dissolution, govt has harmed minority rights and advanced Sangh Parivar agendas. The order dissolving the waqf board must be revoked immediately,” Vijayan said.
