Newly-appointed administrator in Lakshadweep Praful Khoda Patel is in the middle of a political storm due to some of his recent decisions, which have caused discontent in the Muslim-majority islands.
Mr. Patel has been accused of banning beef products in a place the meat is widely consumed, demolishing fishermen’s sheds in coastal areas for violating the Coast Guard Act and revoking restrictions on the consumption of alcohol.
Mr Patel’s administration has proposed the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation, 2021, which bans the slaughter of cows, calf, bull, and bullocks. Under the regulation, the sale and purchase of beef and beef products are banned.
His administration’s other regulation the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation proposes changes in the existing land ownership and usage. It allows the government to use any land for development activities, such as building, engineering, mining and quarrying. It has also allowed the sale of liquor at hotels and resorts on three islands, stating the move will promote tourism.
The island administration has removed huts erected by fishermen along the coastline, saying they violated the Coastal Regulation Zone and Coast Guard Act.
But the Congress and some other opposition parties, including the CPI(M), have accused the administration of “destroying peace and culture” of the islands. Senior CPI(M) leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal have demanded that Mr Patel be recalled from the island chain, which shares cultural ties to Left-ruled Kerala.
