Good certificate for Jamaat-e-Islami: UDF in trouble and LDF weaponing the chance

MALAPPURAM: Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan's statement that Jamaat-e-Islami has changed its political stance has been used as a weapon by the LDF in the Nilambur by-election, leaving the UDF in trouble. Other Muslim organizations are opposed to the clean chit given to Jamaat-e-Islami, including the religious-state argument.

EK Samastha, who is of the opinion that there should be no political cooperation with Jamaat-e-Islami, is angry at the Congress's U-turn. To turn this into an opportunity, the Chief Minister came forward praising the Samastha leadership. "There is democracy in Samastha and room for dissent. What needs to be corrected should be corrected and moved forward. Samastha has not faced any misfortune from the government," the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister's praise was made during the book launch of Samastha History: Confluence, A Coffee Table Book in Thiruvananthapuram. V.D. Satheesan defended this by pointing out that he was not repeating what some people have said about Malappuram and Malabar.

League concerned

The Muslim League is concerned that the Jamaat controversy will be used as a weapon by anti-League elements in Samastha. The League feels that public praise could have been avoided in the context of the elections. KNM state president T.P. Abdulla Koya Madani said that the mistake made by Jamaat-e-Islami was that it misinterpreted religion for political purposes. "I do not agree with Jamaat-e-Islami's religious statehood. I disagree with their goals," he said. Samastha Kanthapuram faction SYS state general secretary Rahmathulla Saqafi Elamaram criticized the opposition leader's remark that Jamaat-e-Islami had abandoned old ideas as serious. "It is only that Jamaat-e-Islami formed another political party by maintaining their ideas. UDF has never formed a political alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami and the Welfare Party," said Muslim League national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty.