Kanthapuram Sunni faction backs K T Jaleel

KOZHIKODE: The followers of the Sunni faction led by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliar have come forward to defend minister K T Jaleel, who is facing widespread agitation for his alleged role in the gold smuggling case.
Though the Kanthapuram Sunnis have not officially declared support to the beleaguered minister, they have thrown enough indications to show their solidarity.
In an article in Siraj daily on Tuesday, the official mouthpiece of the Sunni group, O M Tharuvana blasted the agitations demanding the minister’s resignation. Tharuvana said that breaking from the tradition of wooing different fronts alternatively, this time LDF was poised for a comeback in Kerala.
He said the people would have given 90 out of 100 to the LDF government for handling issues like the flood, Nipah and Covid-19. The continuity of LDF government for another five years is something unimaginable for UDF leaders. The article said that ordinary people may not understand the angst of the UDF leadership, but UDF will not remain intact if LDF comes to power for one more term.
Alleging that Congress-Muslim League-BJP alliance is visible in the agitations, the article said all leaders in the forefront of the strike have similar voices. “We are constrained to assume that Congress in Kerala was given to the BJP free of cost when the latter purchased the Congress in Karnataka. Because Congress is beautifully implementing BJP agenda in the state,” Tharuvana said.
The political game, with an eye on votes, will put in jeopardy the cordial relationship between India and the UAE and the lives of thousands of Malayalis living there, he said.
The insinuation Muslim Youth League leader P K Firos made at the news conference on Monday against Kanthapuram has infuriated the Sunni group. “We don’t think that the reference against Kanthapuram is accidental. Firos was deliberately taking a dig at Kanthapuram,” said a source in the group. “Firos is not in the good books of the rival EK group of Sunnis. He had crossed swords with them on many issues, including the legal age for marriage of girls. Firos is now trying to appease the EK faction of Sunnis,” the source said.
The Facebook post of Sulaiman Saqafi Maliyekkal, the leader of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), also throws light on the line of thinking of the Kanthapuram group.
The humour-enveloped post said the people are waiting to cast their vote for excellence in governance though the media is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Firos’s provocation may prompt the Kanthapuram group to take more aggressive postures on the issue.