Former Higher Education Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader K.T. Jaleel has accused Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal of misleading the Muslim community over the PM SHRI school scheme. Dr. Jaleel said he would no longer recognise him as the Kazi of any mahal.
Mr. Thangal is the Kazi of dozens of mahals across Kerala, particularly in the Malabar region. A Kazi is an Islamic religious leader who officiates Muslim marriages and guides the community on religious matters, including announcing the beginning of Islamic months based on the sighting of the new moon.
Demanding a public apology from the IUML and Mr. Thangal, Dr. Jaleel alleged that they had spread fear within the Muslim community over PM SHRI, but later abandoned their stand.
“The community listens to Mr. Thangal not just as the Muslim League president but as a Kazi. If he goes back on his word, he is not fit to hold that office,” Dr. Jaleel said.
‘Step down’
He said Mr. Thangal should step down as Kazi and allow scholars who keep their word to take over. Otherwise, mahal committees should replace him. “I will not recognise Mr. Thangal as the Kazi of any mahal. His religious rulings will have no value for people like me,” he said.
Rejecting the United Democratic Front (UDF)’s claim that Kerala could not withdraw from PM SHRI because the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had signed the agreement, Dr. Jaleel called the argument “a blatant lie”.
He cited a Union Minister’s reply in the Rajya Sabha to a question by IUML national treasurer P.V. Abdul Wahab, MP, to argue that the State was not bound to implement the scheme.
Dr. Jaleel said the LDF government had kept PM SHRI on hold after public opposition and had not nominated a single school under the scheme. He asked what would happen if the present government also refused to implement it.
He also claimed that people would not allow PM SHRI funds to be used in government schools, recalling that the Muslim League had earlier described the scheme as anti-Muslim. He added that government schools in Kerala had already been upgraded without PM SHRI funds.
Published – August 01, 2026 07:09 pm IST
