What is happening in Lakshadweep?

Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep, the group of 36 islands is known for its exotic and sun-kissed beaches and lush green landscape. The name Lakshadweep in Malayalam and Sanskrit means ‘a hundred thousand islands’. India’s smallest Union Territory Lakshadweep is an archipelago consisting of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km. It is an Union Territory and is comprised of 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and ten inhabited islands. The islands comprise of 32 sq km. The capital is Kavaratti and it is also the principal town of the UT. All Islands are 220 to 440 km away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the emerald Arabian Sea. The natural landscapes, the sandy beaches, abundance of flora and fauna and the absence of a rushed lifestyle enhance the mystique of Lakshadweep.

                 In the last few days in Lakshadweep, there is opposition to the new law, the proposal to change the rules of Panchayat elections. But Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Patel has said that everything is happening according to the rules and the voices of protest are rising only from Kerala. He says that only those people in Lakshadweep are protesting, who have a vested interest. 

                 Lakshadweep is a union territory, there is no assembly here. The command of the state is in the hands of the administrator appointed by the President. Patel is accused by the people of Lakshadweep of "trying to harm the culture, living, eating methods and the needless fear". They say that many of the recent proposed rules are "against democratic dignity”. The government has issued a draft notification of the new rules. The common people here, the Panchayat and the MP, say that these notifications have been brought in by keeping the rules on hold and without the advice of the elected representatives. These are all drafts, which if approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs, will be implemented as per the law.

               On one side, there is a demand for sending back to the Administrator of Lakshadweep by running a social media campaign called #SaveLakshadweep. On the other hand, some MPs from Kerala have also written a letter to President Ramnath Kovind. This letter states that all the orders issued by Patel "aim to destroy the traditional life and cultural diversity of the people of Lakshadweep".

Now understand what these orders are and why there is so much dissatisfaction against Praful Patel.

Change in rules and regulations related to Corona 

The SOP that were created to deal with Corona in Lakshadweep was that people coming from Kochi would inevitably have to live in Quarantine. But the administration Praful Patel changed it in a 'unilateral' way and rules were made that anyone who had an RT-PCR negative test report 48 hours before travel would be allowed to come to the island.

  Due to this Corona spread across the island. Last year, when the corona virus was spreading all over the country, at that time no cases of corona virus were found in Lakshadweep. But after the first case came on 18 January 2021, the atmosphere changed. According to the data released on May 26, more than 6 thousand cases have been reported in Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021

The people here are most annoyed by the proposal of 'Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021' of all these new rules and laws. The draft notification states that the government "has powers to acquire, hold, manage and manage movable or immovable property".

Gunda Act

Despite having the lowest crime rate in the country, Praful Patel introduced a reform 'Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA)' for Lakshadweep in January. This act is also known as 'Gunda Act'. Under this act, any person can be detained for up to one year without giving information in public.

If you have more than two children, you cannot contest panchayat elections

The people associated with the panchayat have alleged that Patel wants to reduce the powers of the panchayat and the people's representatives. They allege that the new rules have been created to "take power from the panchayat and give it power to the administrator". "This is an attempt to snatch away democratic rights. How can you prevent anyone from contesting elections by making an uncontrolled rule."

Beef meat banned, alcohol ban lifted

People of Lakshadweep say that such 'undemocratic and anti-people' rule in the name of animal protection is against people's life and freedom to eat food of choice. They say that the livelihood of many people will be lost by this new rule; no local person had ever made such a demand and while making rules, no local was even negotiated.

Oddly enough, a proposal for a beef ban was brought to this island with a Muslim majority population and the alcohol ban was removed.

Praful Patel's policies are not the only ones that are being questioned.

After the sudden death of Dineshwar Sharma in 2020, Patel was appointed as the Administrator of Lakshadweep. Patel, considered close to Modi, was made the Administrator of the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu in 2016. Let me tell you that only IAS officers have been appointed on this post, but Patel's appointment was done differently from this practice.

So why did this happen? Is there no eligible IAS officer in the country anymore? Think about all the points that I told you. 

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