Kerala assembly repeals law entrusting PSC with Waqf board appointments
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1: The Kerala Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that repeals a law, which entrusted the appointments made to the State Waqf Board, to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had approved a draft Bill on Wednesday to withdraw the Bill passed by the Assembly last year seeking to hand over recruitment to the Waqf Board to the PSC.
After the minister made a single-line presentation, Speaker M B Rajesh put the bill for voting and the House passed it unanimously.
There was no discussion with the Congress-led UDF opposition also supporting it as the roll back of the decision was their long-pending demand.
Leader of opposition V D Satheesan termed the government's decision to repeal the bill that left the Waqf appointments to the PSC as "victory of the opposition." The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a UDF ally, strongly demanded its withdrawal and the other parties in the opposition front including the Congress extended full support to them, he said.
"It is the victory of the struggle waged by the UDF inside and outside the Assembly," he added.
Handing over Waqf board appointments to PSC would cause similar issues if the Devaswom Board appointments were to be entrusted to the recruitment agency, he pointed out.
That is why the UDF had demanded a special system for Waqf appointments, the leader added.
Last month, the Left government announced that it would not go ahead with its earlier decision to entrust the appointments made to the State Waqf Board to the PSC and said a "new system" would be introduced for the recruitment of deserving job aspirants.
Announcing the decision in the Assembly, the CM had said 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.
In November last year, the Vijayan government 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 led to a controversy, the Chief Minister, in December 2021, held talks with leaders of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Skipper Curran, bowlers lead PBKS to a five-wicket win over RR
Guwahati, May 15: Skipper Sam Curran played the lead act hitting a well-paced fifty and taking two wickets, as Punjab Kings consigned Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket defeat in their IPL match here on Wednesday.
The target was a mere 145, but Kings made heavy weather of it on a sluggish track here but Curran (63 not out, 41b, 5x4, 3x6) had a calm head and skills to lift them to their fifth win of the season. PBKS made 145/5 in 18.5 overs.
The Englishman received good support from Jitesh Sharma (22, 20b) as the pair added 63 runs in a fluent fifth wicket partnership.
For Royals, it was their fourth defeat on the trot, but they remained second on the table with 16 points with a qualification to the playoffs to boot with.
The Kings’ chase began on a shaky note as they lost Prabhsimran Singh in the first over itself to Trent Boult.
But bigger jolts were in store as an impressive Avesh Khan (2/28) scalped two wickets in the fifth over.
The right-arm pacer first plucked the important wicket of Rilee Rossouw, who played some strong shots in his 13-ball 22, and then jettisoned in-form Shashank Singh for a two-ball naught.
Shashank failed to connect a fuller, straighter one from Avesh while attempting a flick, and the 141 kmph delivery thudded on his bat. Shashank did not even bother to use DRS as he walked away.
Punjab gained some ground through the alliance between Curran and Jitesh, who smoked R Ashwin for two sixes.
Curran too gave a dose of punishment to the veteran offie, lofting him for a wonderful six over extra cover.
But the blossoming stand was snapped by Yuzvendra Chahal (2/31), leaving PBKS at 111 for five in the 16th over.
However, Curran and Ashutosh Sharma (17 not out, 11 balls) knocked off the remaining runs without further drama.
Earlier, despite a well-tuned 48 from local hero Riyan Parag, RR struggled against an array of accurate bowlers on a rather slow pitch, meandering to a sub-par 144 for nine.
R Ashwin (28, 19b, 3x4, 1x6) and Parag (48, 34, 6x4) tried to accelerate during their 50-run stand for the fourth wicket but it could only bring in a temporary momentum for RR.
In fact, lethargy had set in very early in the Rajasthan innings after the early loss of Jaiswal, who chopped a Curran (2/24) delivery back on to his stumps.
Sanju Samson (18), who went past 500-run in a season for the first time in his IPL career, and Tom-Kohler Cadmore (18, 23b) stitched 36 runs for the second wicket but took six overs for it.
But with Curran and Arshdeep finding a hint of swing and maintaining a good line, scoring was not an easy proposition for the RR batters.
Eventually, Samson, who tried a hopping cut off pacer Nathan Ellis, gave a simple catch to Rahul Chahar at point in the seventh over.
Cadmore too returned to the dugout in the next over, as his almighty heave off leg-spinner Chahar (2/26) could not progress beyond Jitesh in the deep.
Those twin dismissals actually paved the way for the best phase in the Royals’ innings as Ashwin and Parag pressed their foot on the right pedal.
Ashwin displayed his batting skills, smashing Chahar for 17 runs in the 12th over that included a sequence of 6, 4, 4 and the first four was a stunning reverse scoop over backward point.
But he could not further extend his innings, lofting Arshdeep to Shashank.
Parag, usually a free-flowing batter, had to curb his flair in front of a hugely adoring home crowd because of the regular fall of wickets at the other end.
But a late cut off Curran that sped to third man stood as a testament of his ability and timing as he also moved past the 500-run mark for the season, before getting trapped in front of the wicket by Harshal Patel.
However, apart from conquering those little peaks the RR batters failed to slip into the top gear consistently.
