By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Kozhikode: The state council of the Indian National League will decide on the political crisis faced by the party in Kerala, said Prof Muhammed Sulaiman, INL national president. The decision of the state council will be discussed by the national committee before approval and announcement. Prof Sulaiman was talking to media persons after the party’s national political affairs committee meeting held in Kozhikode yesterday.
Prof Sulaiman said that the decision to cooperate with the UDF was taken only in the matter of the local body elections. The Congress action of welcoming the verdict of the Allahabad High Court in the Babri case was harsher than their earlier act of standing by the demolition of the masjid. The Congress’s welcome came at a time when the secular sections and the Muslim community in the country made clear the meaninglessness and consequences of such a verdict. This act is synonymous to the permission to demolish the masjid. The Muslim Personal Law Board has already decided to approach the Supreme Court with an appeal against the verdict. The INL also will join with the Law Board and file petition.
The national level meeting of the party also discussed the up-coming Assembly elections in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu besides Kerala, where the party will be strengthened, he added. The presidents of the party in different states had attended the meeting held yesterday in Kozhikode.
Siraj Sait (INL national general secretary), Dr AA Ameen (treasurer), SA Puthiyavalappil (state president) and PMA Salam (state general secretary) were also present at the press meet.
Meanwhile, PK Kunhalikkutty, state general secretary of the Muslim League, said that it was upto the INL to decide its own future. He said that the cooperation decided upon by the UDF with the INL was only for the local body polls. The INL has not asked about taking the party in the UDF and so, there has not been such a discussion. He added that there was little chance of the INL to leave the UDF.
The Kerala INL which had been with and supported the LDF since its formation cooperated with the UDF in the recently-held local body elections in the state. The change took place as the LDF was not ready to take the party into the alliance even after waiting for long 14 years and several other parties were taken in. The INL went to the UDF zone in the local body polls, but the UDF also made it clear last day that there was no agenda for an expansion of the alliance taking in any new party. There had been problems within the UDF in the matter of sharing seats for INL also in the elections. A group of the party is already with the LDF, protesting against the party’s decision to cooperate with the UDF in the elections. The new attitude of the UDF after its stunning victory in the local body polls is also creating murmurs in the INL.
The party can still continue with the UDF, just like it had been with the LDF earlier. The UDF will not take the party into the alliance but the INL may go with them with small adjustments as in the local body polls. The LDF also has made it clear from its actions that it also would not take the party into the alliance, but a group of the INL is still with the LDF supporting it as before. Another option is to stand independent of either of the alliances, though it would be really hard in Kerala which is used to the two fronts. However, while standing independent of the alliances was unthinkable earlier, now it is not so as there are a few small parties like the BSP, DHRM and SDPI which are not affiliated to any front. The victory of the SDPI in a few seats has also made it clear that people may accept a different party. Now it is up to the INL to decide what to do, not just in the coming Assembly elections but in future also. Whatever be the decision of the party, it is sure to decide the political future and career of this dear child of late Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait.