Kerala Assembly Passes Resolution To Remove Lakshadweep Administrator, Asks Centre To Intervene

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Administrator, who is challenging the interests of the people, must be removed & the Centre must take immediate action to protect the lives & livelihood of people of Lakshadweep.

Kerala CM in Legislative Assembly

Kerala: Kerala Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed the resolution to call back the administrator of Lakshadweep and sought centre's intervention in the Lakshadweep issue.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said, "The Administrator, who is challenging the interests of the people, must be removed & the Centre must take immediate action to protect the lives & livelihood of people of Lakshadweep."

 In the past few days, protests brewed up in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep over the administrative reforms announced by the island's administrator Praful Patel, which have been described by protesters as anti-people. The protest under the 'Save Lakshadweep campaign', has gone viral garnering support from renowned personalities and political leaders.

The public discontent against the administrator further gained momentum on social media with the public asking for the suspension of Patel.

The inhabitants of Lakshadweep are protesting against a new set of orders including the implementation of the anti-social Activities Regulation bill, 2021, or the goonda act, in the island territory. The critics of the law say that the bill is unnecessary as the crime rate of the island is “already very low”.

What are contentious issues?

One of the core issues is the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 (LDAR), which empowers the administrator to remove or relocate islanders from their property, for town planning or any developmental activity. Besides, the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA), introduced in January 2021, offers the power to the government to detain a person without any public disclosure for a period of up to one year.

The draft bill gives sweeping, arbitrary, unchecked powers to the government (and all its bodies) to directly interfere with an islander’s right to possess and retain their property. Other regulations include preventing schools from serving non-vegetarian food and destroying sheds of fishermen. It is being suspected that enforcing restrictions on slaughtering and transport of beef products is nothing short of a beef ban.

"No person shall be a member of a Gram Panchayat or continue as such who... has more than two children," the draft rule says. It has caused concerns among the residents about their ability to contest polls if they don't fit this criterion.

Apart from the legislation, the standard operating procedure of the island which earlier mandated strict quarantine of fourteen days for entering the island have been diluted by Patel. He said an RT-PCR negative certificate is enough to enter Lakshadweep which has raised concerns among the islanders.