Muslim groups urge Kerala to follow TN, West Bengal in 'rejecting' Waqf Amendment Act
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Muslim organisations in Kerala have called on the state's Left government and opposition parties to pass a joint resolution saying the controversial Waqf Amendment Act will not be implemented in the state.
They wanted the state to take a cue from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that she would not implement the act in her state, Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution demanding the Centre to roll back the Waqf amendment bill even before it was passed by the parliament. DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf Amendment Act.
"Stalin has already made an announcement, and their assembly has passed a resolution against the implementation of the Wakf Amendment Act. We demand that the Kerala government should also pass such a resolution," Thodiyur Muhammed Kunji Moulavi, General Secretary of the South Kerala Jamiatul Ulama, told PTI on Thursday.
Several other Muslim organisations, which jointly organised a march to the Raj Bhavan in Kerala on Thursday in protest against the recently passed legislation, have raised the same demand.
The Muslim leaders described the amendment as an attempt to "eradicate Muslims from the country" and to seize all their properties, including Waqf assets, which Muslim families have been donating for the benefit of the poor in the country for generations.
"Until the death of the last Muslim in this country, we will not allow this anti-democratic law to be implemented. Our Raj Bhavan march is just the beginning, and we may even organise a massive protest rally to Parliament," said Kadakkal Abdul Azeez Moulavi, President of the Kerala Muslim Jamaath Federation.
He said that, along with the Muslims in this country, all those who believe in secularism and democracy would join hands to fight against the newly amended Waqf Act.
The Muslim associations have threatened to organise larger protests in the coming days and expressed hope that the Supreme Court will, by then, take a democratic decision against the amendments.
CPI national executive member and former MP, Panniyan Raveendran, who also participated in the programme, said that all those who oppose the religious polarisation of the BJP/RSS would join hands with their Muslim brethren to fight against such discrimination.
"We know how we live and the love we have for each other. The BJP or RSS do not even deserve to utter the name of Hindu. This is an organised attempt to loot properties for their corporate friends. After targeting Muslims, they are now targeting Christians," Raveendran claimed.
The Muslim organisations stated that they would continue their peaceful protests against the amendments and would also seek legal remedies against the implementation of an anti-democratic law.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, which was passed by Parliament last week, has come into force from April 8, 2025.
While the BJP-led NDA had rallied in support of the bill, the Opposition INDIA bloc united in opposing it.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
