In view of the local body polls, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Monday sought to downplay in public its discontentment over the treatment dealt to it by the Congress, saying all internal issues within the coalition would be settled through discussions.
“We aren’t saying there are no issues, but it is an internal matter which will be settled within [the UDF],” said E.T. Mohammed Basheer, a member of the party’s State high-power committee, after the party working committee met here to firm up its roadmap for the forthcoming elections to local bodies.
Mr. Basheer said his party was satisfied with the treatment it received from the Congress, the coalition leader, and gave full marks to the government for its “development initiatives despite being hamstrung by limited resources”.
The brave face of unity within the coalition comes in the wake of Public Works Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju of the IUML publicly criticising the unilateral and inappropriate action initiated against a chief engineer of his Pubic Works Department by the Vigilance Department, under Home Minister and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.
The only lacuna that Mr. Basheer found in the government was that it had not taken up enough outreach measures to sensitise the public to the development activities undertaken in the past four years.
Refusing to be drawn to the controversies that scarred the image of the government — including the recent textbook fiasco which had Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb from the IUML at the receiving end — Mr. Basheer said while the government was one of the best Kerala had seen, the education ministry’s performance was equally endearing.
He was evasive when asked about the lamp-lighting row involving Mr. Rabb, but Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty quickly parried all queries saying such issues were irrelevant to the context.
Same stance
“The stance of the Indian Union Muslim League remains the same on the issue,” said Mr. Basheer while Mr. Kunhalikutty maintained that it was not discussed at the working committee meeting.
