Why Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel is being criticised

Praful Khoda Patel, the administrator of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, is being widely criticised by the Opposition over a string of decisions he has taken since taking over on December 5, 2020. The Opposition members, from the UT and mainland Kerala, have termed his policies “anti-people” and “devious”.

Among those who have opposed Patel are Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal (NCP) and his colleagues from neighbouring Kerala– T N Prathapan (Congress), Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M) and E T Mohammed Basheer (Muslim League) have urged the Centre to recall Patel, reported PTI.

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What are the policies Patel is being criticised for?

The Opposition party members have alleged the following:

– That Patel unilaterally lifted restrictions on the use of alcohol in the Muslim-majority islands.

– He banned beef products, citing animal preservation.

– The Administrator demolished fishermen’s sheds built on the coastal areas, saying they violated the Coast Guard Act.

– He signed orders to retrench some 200 contract staff who were working as marine watchers for conserving marine biodiversity.

– That Lakshadweep’s administration decided that the islanders should no longer rely on Beypore port in Kerala for freight transit and should instead use Karnataka’s Mangalore port.

Who all have criticised Patel’s policies?

Lakshadweep MP Faizal alleged that the Administrator was coming out with “anti-people” draft notifications at a time when people weren’t able to react due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“News reports from Lakshwadeep are quite serious,” tweeted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who added that the “challenges imposed on their lives, livelihoods and culture cannot be accepted.”

“Kerala has a strong relationship, a long history of cooperation with LD. Unequivocally condemn devious efforts to thwart it,” the CM added.

Congress MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor, sought the government’s intervention in the UT.

“We are destroying a peaceful part of the country where peace, communal harmony &cal reigned undisturbed. Stop the rot!” he tweeted.

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Film actor Prithviraj Sukumaran said he was receiving “desperate messages” from Lakshadweep, pleading with him to draw the attention of the issues faced by the people there.

“How does disrupting the way of life of a centuries-old peaceful settlement become an acceptable means of progress?” he questioned.

Kareem, Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind that all the orders were issued by the Administrator with an ulterior motive to destroy the traditional life and cultural diversity of the people of Lakshadweep, reported the news agency.

“The undemocratic and anti-people regulation in the name of Animal Preservation, which intends to ban slaughter, transportation, selling or buying of beef products, is one among such orders,” he wrote in the letter.

This is a blatant onslaught on the people, who depend upon dairying and growing of bovines as a means of livelihood,” Kareem said and also raised the issue of the decision over Kerala’s Beypore port.

The decision will also adversely affect Beypore, which has been closely associated with the island for decades”, he said and alleged that the decision was aimed at cutting Lakshadweep’s ties with Kerala.

Who is Praful Khoda Patel?

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Patel was Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s ministerial colleague (2010-12), while he was Gujarat’s CM.

After Modi became the CM, Patel was appointed as the Administrator of Daman and Diu in 2016. Shortly after, he was also given the charge of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

He was given the additional charge of Lakshadweep after the death of Dineshwar Sharma in December, last year.

How did the BJP react to the controversy?

BJP national Vice President A P Abdullakutty, the party’s prabhari in Lakshadweep, alleged that the Opposition members were protesting over steps that were taken to end the “corrupt practices” of politicians in the islands.

He claimed that the people of Lakshadweep were happy and further alleged that tension was being created through the media and social media by certain fundamentalist groups operating from Kerala.

“Unfortunately, these MPs are playing to the tunes of such outfits without realising the truth,” the BJP member told PTI.

Terming the allegations against Patel as baseless, Abdullakutty said that the permission for opening bars in the islands was given during the Congress-led UPA rule.

On the beef ban, he said that the cow slaughter ban was implemented in 22 states by the then Congress government.

“It is not a law made by Patel. It is a law of the land. It is applicable in Lakshadweep too,” Abdullakutty said.

Concurring with the demand for a full-time administrator, the BJP leader said that he has taken up the matter with his party’s leaders.