LDF plans minorities meet to repair strained ties with Muslim organisations ahead of polls

KOZHIKODE: The LDF governments decision to organise the Minorities Sangamam comes at a juncture when the relationship between the CPM and Muslim organisations, which represent the largest minority community in Kerala, is at an all-time low. The communitys sense that the party is toeing a soft-Hindutva line with an eye on the Hindu vote bank is strengthening with each passing day. The sangamam, scheduled for mid-October, will be conducted under the department for minority welfare with the active involvement of its Minorities Commission and Minorities Development Finance Corporation arms. Representatives of Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain and Parsi communities will be invited to the event -- expected to involve around 2,000 delegates. The venue will be either Kochi or Kozhikode. The decision comes at a time when the opposition UDF has accused the government of convening the September 20 Global Ayyappa Sangamam to woo Hindu votes. The CPM hopes to counter the allegation by holding the meeting of minorities ahead of local-body and assembly elections and stop the erosion of Muslim votes. A host of developments of the last few months has vitiated already worsening ties between the CPM and Muslim organisations. And the party feels that organisations such as the Jamaat-e-Islami are trying to capitalise on the widening rift. Jamaats acceptance within the community worries the CPM, which kept the organisation at arms length till a few years ago. The support Samastha leader Bahaudeen Nadvi received from unexpected quarters for his strong remarks on communists and liberals points to the mounting disappointment in the Muslim community over CPM positions on current issues. In August, CPM Thirurangadi area committee organised a protest march to the Darul Huda Islamic University, run by the EK Sunni faction, accusing the institution of creating environmental issues for people living in the surrounding area. The Darul Huda management termed the protest politically-motivated. Nadvi is vice chancellor of the university. Protesters marched to a school in Thrissur, controlled by the Sunni Kanthapuram faction, where a teachers call to students to stay away from Onam celebrations created bad blood between the party and the organisation, which had taken a pro-CPM stance many times in the past. Both incidents have helped bolster the feeling that the left party is targeting Muslim institutions. The refusal on the part of the CPM to react to the anti-Muslim remarks of SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan has also infuriated sections of the community.