New Delhi: Over the past few weeks, Lakshadweep administrator, Praful Khoda Patel has been blamed for taking ‘anti-people’ reforms in the islands. Opposition parties have also sought his recall.
At the time when opposition parties are blaming the administrator for imposing Hindutva in Lakshadweep, the trees in the islands have been found painted in Saffron. The bottom third has been painted with saffron whereas, the middle third is coloured white. Such painted trees are found in Kavaratti and Agatti.
Lakshadweep district panchayat member Thaha Malika said that there was no tradition of painting trees in the islands.
Two-child norm in Lakshadweep
Recently, Public health expert Poonam Muttreja has said that the Lakshadweep administration’s proposed two-child norm defies all logic.
The Lakshadweep administration has proposed a new panchayat regulation that makes any person with more than two children ineligible to contest the panchayat polls.
Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of National NGO Population Foundation of India, said that the proposed regulation is suicidal and defies all logic.
COVID-19 cases in the islands
The relaxation of the seven-day quarantine norm was another controversial decision taken by the administrator. Before the relaxation, there was no COVID-19 case in the islands.
Earlier, Lakshadweep MP, NCP’s Mohammed Faizal and his colleagues from neighbouring Kerala– T N Prathapan (Congress), Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M) and E T Mohammed Basheer (Muslim League) had urged the Centre to recall Praful Khoda Patel, Administrator of India’s smallest union territory.
They alleged that Patel unilaterally lifted restrictions on the use of alcohol in the Muslim-majority islands, banned beef products, citing Animal Preservation and demolished fishermen’s sheds built on the coastal areas, saying they violated the Coast Guard Act.
It may be mentioned that Patel, who is the Administrator of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, was given charge of Lakshadweep following the demise of Dineshwar Sharma in December last year.
With inputs from agencies