Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] central committee member P. Rajeeve has accused the United Democratic Front (UDF) government of showing more interest in the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, than the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
Addressing the media here on Saturday, he said that the Union and State governments taking a similar stand on the Act was something rare in the judicial scheme of things. Mr. Rajeeve claimed that with the State government approving the new Waqf Act in the Kerala High Court, its stand in cases related to the legislation filed in the Supreme Court would become invalid. The Kerala government would not be able to oppose the Act when the apex court considers the cases.
He said that a section of the media was spreading the news that the Indian Union Muslim League, a key constituent of the UDF, was unaware of these developments. If the Minister in charge of the department did not know about the government’s stand, he is not fit for the post. If the decision was taken without his knowledge, the Cabinet has lost its collective responsibility, Mr. Rajeeve claimed. The former Minister said that only Muslims should be made members of the Waqf Board and including non-Muslims in it was a violation of Constitutional provisions, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rajeeve said that Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan should have been more careful while making statements about the Tata Group investing ₹10,000 crore in ship building in the State. He pointed out that the Tata Group denied Mr. Satheesan’s claims possibly because of the ramifications it could have caused in the share market. Questions could come from the market regulator as well, Mr. Rajeeve said.
M.V. Govindan, CPI(M) State secretary, said in a statement that the press release issued by the Public Relations Department related to Mr. Satheesan’s remarks had mistakes. He said that the proposed shipbuilding project at the Cochin Port to be launched by Artson Engineering, a subsidiary of the Tata Projects Group, in association with the State-owned Malabar Cements, was not part of the UDF government’s ‘Mission Samudra’. Mr. Govindan said that it was conceived during the tenure of the previous Left Democratic Front government.
Published – July 18, 2026 09:04 pm IST
