Kerala CM Vijayan calls all-party meet on June 4 to discuss minority scholarships issue

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a virtual all-party meeting on June 4 to discuss the minority scholarships issue. This comes days after the Kerala High Court held that the action of the state government in sub-classifying the minorities by providing merit-cum-means scholarships cannot be legally sustained. The High Court order was issued on a petition filed by Justin Pallivathukkal, a native of Palakkad district against the 2015 order.

Kerala: Minority Scholarships Issue

According to the petition, "Separating minorities into Muslims and Christians is against secularism. The government benefits should be made available to all minorities in proportion to their population."

Earlier, the Kerala government appointed a committee to study the educational and economic backwardness of the Christian backward classes. The committee was led by Justice JB Koshy. The government had submitted the committee's report to the court. The court also considered this while hearing the petition. The state government had sub-classified the minorities by providing merit-cum-means scholarship at 80 per cent to the Muslim community and 20 per cent to the Latin Catholic Christians and converted Christians.

As per the census, Muslims constituted 58.67% of the minority population, Christians 40.6%, with other communities making up the remaining 0.73%. The government has to balance the demands of both communities and arrive at an amicable settlement. The CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would weigh the situation. Front partners Indian National League (INL) and Kerala Congress (M) are understood to be not on the same page on the issue.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has opened consultations within the United Democratic Front (UDF). While one of its partners Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has opposed any reduction in the Muslim scholarship quota, another partner, the Kerala Congress led by P.J. Joseph, has viewed the court verdict positively.

(with inputs from ANI)

(Image: PTI)