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Amid mounting criticism against the contentious proposed regulations by Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Khoda Patel, Lakshadweep Collector Asker Ali who reached Kochi on Thursday, 27 May, met the media.
Defending the controversial regulations of the Union Territory’s administration, the Collector said that what is being witnessed is a ‘misleading campaign’. But notably, the Collector did not give valid reasons behind many of the new controversial regulations.
Talking about the widely criticised proposal to bring change in panchayat regulation that proposes to not allow people with more than two children to participate in the election, the Collector stated that the move ‘will empower proper family planning and that it will empower women in the Islands’.
Meanwhile, he clarified that the rule will not apply to people who already have more than two children. “Only parents of such children born after the date of implementation of the regulation will be barred from contesting,” said Ali.
Answering questions of reporters on the need for such a regulation, the Collector stated that recently 300 kg heroin and five AK 47 rifles were confiscated by the Indian Coast Guard from a fishing boat that was passing through the sea, “along one of the Islands”.
But it should be noted that the confiscated boat, according to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), is allegedly from Sri Lanka and the fishermen on board were also Sri Lankan nationals and the ICG had made no mention about any Lakshadweep connection in their statement to media.
Implicitly referring to drug-related cases, he mentioned that in the last two years, there have been 40 of them. “It is also not just about the cases, it is about the sense of insecurity about youth. Anything can happen anytime, we need to prepare. We cannot assume in 20 years Lakshadweep will remain peaceful. The objectives of the administration are also changing,” Ali said.
Interestingly, on being asked about the move to ban beef in the islands through the draft law in the name of ‘animal preservation’, which will ban slaughter, transportation, and selling or buying beef products, Collector Asker Ali refrained from even using the term ‘beef’.
He added that many states in the country have implemented cow protection laws. “Only those with illegal businesses are starting propaganda (against cow protection laws).”
On the alleged move to allow alcohol distribution in the Lakshadweep Islands, Collector stated that it will be only available in selected hotels and will strictly be only for tourists.
One of the other contentious draft proposals is the Lakshadweep Development Authority Act, which aims to widen roads, map and earmark areas for construction, mining, commercial or residential activity, among other things.
They are also opposing road-widening proposals, as Lakshadweep doesn’t have many vehicles, and those there are mostly two-wheelers. However, Collector Ali justified the proposed regulations as part of bringing ‘development’ to the islands.
“Even after 73 years of independence, development is low in Lakshadweep, even internet facilities are inadequate; while Maldives, an island country, is a tourist hub. We aim to develop Lakshadweep likewise,” he added.
The Collector also defended the COVID-19 management by the Lakshadweep administration. “There have been so far only 26 deaths and out of these, 23 were patients with serious comorbidities,” he said.
Notably, in the first wave of the pandemic last year, Lakshadweep Islands had zero COVID-19 cases, which experts credited to strict quarantine measures and testing. However, these measures were relaxed after Praful Patel took over and it was in January this year that Lakshadweep recorded its first COVID-19 patient.
Meanwhile, members of various political parties, including Youth Congress, CPI, staged a protest and tried to block the Collector as he came to the Ernakulam Press Club.
(This story was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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