Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday accused Chief Minister V D Satheesan and the UDF of toeing the Sangh Parivar line by agreeing to implement the amended Waqf Act provision allowing appointment of non-Muslims to the Waqf board.
Vijayan alleged that the UDF and Satheesan had “openly surrendered” before the Sangh Parivar agenda and were going along with it.
The allegations were made by the former Chief Minister at a press conference in response to Satheesan’s recent remarks accusing Vijayan of attempting to turn the Muslim community against the UDF government through communal remarks over the Waqf board appointments issue.
Speaking to reporters, Vijayan said the UDF government and the CM had turned Kerala into the first state to accept the amended Waqf Act.
“This is clear Sangh Parivar seva, and it has been seen by everyone. So, he (the CM) started making baseless statements against me. The LDF government had always upheld the religious freedom guaranteed under the Constitution. I had taken that stand when I was CM and continue to do so. I have not changed that,” the former CM contended.
He said the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution during the LDF rule opposing the Waqf Act amendments. However, the current UDF government and the CM had “surrendered before the Sangh Parivar agenda” by moving ahead with it, he said.
“Should a Congress CM take the same stand as that of the BJP?” Vijayan asked, pointing out that when the new Waqf board was constituted in February 2026, the then LDF government had kept vacant the two positions meant for non-Muslims.
“If we wanted to implement the Act, we could have appointed non-Muslims. But we did not. The LDF government also took up the legal fight against the amended Act. These are the facts. But the CM has closed his eyes to these facts. He also made misleading statements. Such acts do not suit a CM,” Vijayan contended.
He said the CM had accused him of making communal statements, while he had only reiterated the UDF’s earlier stand against the amended Waqf Act in Parliament, before the UDF came to power in Kerala.
“So, is anyone who opposes the inclusion of non-Muslims in the board a communal person? Is that the stand of the CM?” he asked, alleging that the UDF had made a clear “U-turn” on the implementation of the amended Waqf Act.
