High Court verdict on minority scholarships creates fissure within UDF and LDF in Kerala

Kerala: The contorversial verdict of Kerala High Court which directed Kerala government to distribute merit-cum-means scholarship to the members of the notified minority communities within the state equally has created rupture within ruling Left alliance-LDF and opposition alliance United Democratic Front(UDF) alike

On Saturday, Kerala Congress(M), which is a key partner in the state's ruling LDF urged the government to implement the High Court judgement, which had quashed the state government orders sub-classifying the minorities by providing merit-cum-means scholarship at 80 per cent to Muslim community and 20 percent to Latin Catholic Christians and Converted Christians.

A PTI report quoted Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani as saying that all the benefits for the minorities, including the meirt-cum-means scholarship, should be distributed among them equally, as per law. .

Mani, whose party has support base in the minority Christian community in Central Kerala. has also demanded the government to implement a special package in case of any loss to any section of minorities due to the court order.

"The package can be distributed through the social justice department after conducting a study",the report quoted Mani saying

Mani's statement on the issue came a day after an all party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided that a legal scrutiny and a study by experts would be conducted before arriving at a decision on the issue of the court order.

His statement also showed the division among the partners in the ruling CPI(M)-led alliance over the issue.

The Indian National League (INL), another LDF constituent, has asked the government to go for an appeal against the order, which, it said, was the result of a 'misunderstanding.'

On May 29, The Kerala High Court had quashed the state government orders sub-classifying the minorities by providing merit-cum-means scholarship at 80 per cent to Muslim community and 20 per cent to Latin Catholic Christians and Converted Christians, saying it cannot be legally sustained.

The court had also directed the government to pass requisite and appropriate orders, providing merit-cum-means scholarship to members of notified minority communities within the State equally and in accordance with the latest population census available with the State Minority Commission.

After the meeting on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that a legal scrutiny will be conducted on how to go about the matter.

The issue would be discussed with legal experts and an expert committee would study the matter, he said.

"All the parties have agreed that the issue should in no way affect our social fabric," Vijayan added.

Soon after the high court verdict, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key partner in Congress-headed UDF, had accused the LDF government of misinforming the High Court, resulting in its order nullifying the prevailing 80:20 proportion in the minority welfare schemes.

However, the Kerala Congress, headed by P J Joseph, another UDF ally, welcomed the judgement and urged the government to implement it.

Meanwhile,The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), a body of Catholic Bishops in Kerala, also welcomed the High Court order.

Earlier, Forum for Equity, Justice and Peace, a Delhi based Civil Society had demanded the Kerala government to issue a White Paper on welfare schemes and programs for the Muslim minority in the state to prevent misconceptions that create communal divisions.

The organisation urged the government to disclose the allocation of government resources to different communities in the state based on the proportion of the state's population and community status.