Takes oath in Allah’s name; made to take oath in name of God

KANNUR: A SDPI member who took oath in the name of Allah in the Iritty Municipality was made to take oath in the name of God. P Zeenath, who won from Narayanpara ward, was the first to take the oath in the name of Allah. However, when she was about to sign, the returning officer intervened and made her take the oath in the name of God.

Meantime, the UDF Iritty Municipal Committee accused returning officer Rex Thomas of violating the constitution by administering the oath to the councilors. While the people's representatives have the full right to take the oath in the name of God, in the name of Allah, as well as to other religious believers according to their faith, the committee pointed out that the returning officer's arrogant and undemocratic approach of denying them the opportunity to do so is extremely serious.

The oath-taking was done by misleading the people's representatives by giving them false information that such a restriction was a directive from the Election Commission. This violated the constitutional rights granted to religious people's representatives and created a situation where they had to take the oath against their conscience and beliefs. The UDF Iritty Municipal Committee has filed a complaint with the district collector and the election commissioner, demanding an investigation into the action of the returning officer.