Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan
| Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran
Accusing the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala of having “surrendered completely to the Sangh Parivar’s diktats”, Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has said the State government has “betrayed” Kerala’s secular society and minorities by deciding to reconstitute the Waqf Board in accordance with the Union government’s Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Act, or the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (July 17, 2026), Mr. Vijayan said the (previous) Left Democratic Front (LDF) had taken a stand against the act and kept two posts in the 11-member body vacant. The amended Act had mandated the inclusion of two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board, a move against which several pleas are pending in the Supreme Court. The UDF government has shown needless hurry in agreeing to reconstitute the board as per the amended Act, despite the pending legal challenges, he said.
“The 2025 amendment was part of a Sangh Parivar agenda to sneak in non-Muslims into a primarily Muslim religion-related institution. All religious institutions are usually overseen by people from the same religion. Non-BJP State governments had resisted this move, which goes against the spirit of secularism. Only States ruled by the BJP have included non-Muslims in the Waqf Board. Now, we are facing the unfortunate situation wherein the Kerala government too is moving in that direction. The people of Kerala do not expect whichever government is in power here to kowtow to the Sangh Parivar,” said Mr. Vijayan.
He said that LDF government had presented a resolution in the Kerala Assembly on October 14, 2024 against the amendment Act. Though the UDF had then agreed to the stand and helped pass the resolution unanimously, it seems to have taken a different stand when it gained power, he said.
Mr. Vijayan read out the statement given by the government in the High Court on July 14, 2026 through the special government pleader, as per which “the government is prepared to reconstitute the board strictly in compliance with the mandate of the Section 14 of the UMEED Act.”
“One of the petitioners is the BJP State vice-president. The UDF has taken a stand in agreement with him. Though the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has also filed a case in the Supreme Court regarding this, it seems to have taken a stand against its stated policy. The Waqf Board needs only a quorum of five members for its normal functioning and meetings. Yet, the UDF government has now decided to reconstitute the board as per the Sangh Parivar’s wishes,” he said.
Published – July 17, 2026 01:16 pm IST
