The Left government in Kerala, on Wednesday, July 20, backtracked from its earlier decision to entrust the appointments made to the state Waqf Board to the Public Service Commission (PSC) and said that a new system would be introduced for the recruitment of deserving job aspirants. Announcing the significant decision in the Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that considering the concerns raised by the Muslim outfits in this regard, his government decided to amend the existing law to bring in the new system for the Waqf Board recruitments.
He said that the LDF (Left Democratic Front) government had recently convened a meeting of prominent Muslim outfits to discuss the matter and ensured them that any decision would be taken with a transparent approach while also taking into consideration the collective opinion of that meeting. "Based on that, the government has not taken any further step to make the appointments through the PSC. The government is accepting in principle the united opinion that came up during the meeting of the Muslim outfits," Pinarayi said.
Replying to a submission raised by PK Kunhalikutty of IUML (Indian Union Muslim League), he also said that the LDF government was planning to bring an amendment as a next step. "A new system for the recruitment of deserved persons will come into being through an amendment," the Chief Minister added. Criticising the IUML over the issue, he said that the decision to leave the Waqf appointments to the PSC was not taken secretly but it had been discussed and taken at the House itself.
The only issue pointed out by the IUML then was whether the decision would affect the jobs of temporary employees working under the Board, the Chief Minister added.
Earlier, while submitting the issue, Kunhalikutty slammed the Left government for prolonging their final decision on the Waqf Board recruitment issue despite giving assurance during the meeting of the Muslim outfits that an appropriate decision would be taken.
In November last year, the government had entrusted the PSC with the task of making appointments to the state Waqf Board, deviating from the years-long practice in the past. Earlier, the Waqf Board used to make appointments to all the posts under the Waqf Act, 1995.
As the issue turned into a political controversy, the Chief Minister, in December 2021, had held talks with leaders of influential Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama and assured them that a detailed discussion would be held before taking a final decision on the matter.
He had dismissed as "baseless" the propaganda that non-Muslims would also get jobs in Wakf Board by authorising the PSC to make appointments to the Muslim religious board in the state. Promising that detailed discussions would be held regarding leaving the appointments of the Waqf Board to PSC, Pinarayi had also said that the status quo would continue until a decision is made in the matter.