Tag Archives: K.S.Masthan

T.N. Governor supersedes Waqf Board, appoints special officer

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

M.A. Siddique to perform duties of the board

As elected members in Tamil Nadu  Waqf Board are not more than the nominated members, the Governor has superseded the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board for six months. The Governor has appointed M.A. Siddique as special officer to exercise and perform all the powers and duties as long as the board remains superseded.

As per sub-section (4) of section 14 of the Waqf Act, 1995, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board would be unable to perform if the elected members were not more than the nominated members. The special officer, at present a Principal Secretary to Government (Expenditure), Finance Department, would perform all the powers and duties under the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995, according to a notification issued by the State government.

While the board’s chairperson A. Anwhar Raajhaa ceased to be a Member of Parliament, two senior Muslim advocates, who were earlier considered elected members, would have to be considered nominated members, as per the legal advice received by the State government. Although there were two Muslim MPs from the State, even their appointment would still make it six members, whereas the rule demands elected members should be more than nominated members.

Legal opinion

Following show-cause notices sent to all 10 members of the Board as per the rule, only four members replied seeking to drop the superseding process and urged that senior advocates be considered elected members. “The government has received legal opinion that the senior advocates can be considered as nominated members. In view of the above, the elected members are less than the nominated members and the board is unable to perform its functions..,” the notification stated.

The 10 members on the board were: A. Anwhar Raajhaa, K.A.M. Muhammed Abubacker, K.S. Masthan, A. Sirajudeen, M. Ajmal Khan, A. Tamilmahan Hussain, Amatul Aatifa, A.S. Fathima Muzaffer, Haja K. Majeed and Syed Ali Akbar. Mr. Siddique was a government nominee.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – September 20th, 2019

Only 5 Muslim MLAs in Assembly

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , ,

TAMIL NADU :

But only one MLA belongs to a ‘Muslim’party

Despite accounting for six to seven per cent of Tamil Nadu’s population, only five Muslims have been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2016.

While an identical number of Muslim members were elected to the House in 2011, what has changed is that only one MLA belongs to a ‘Muslim’ party. The other four belong to either one of the two Dravidian majors or have fought the elections on their symbol.

Thamimum Ansari
Thamimum Ansari

“If you take the population alone into consideration, there has to be at least 14 MLAs in the House. But, even electing 10 members to the House is becoming difficult without the support of bigger parties,” says Thamimum Ansari, who won from Nagapattinam, contesting on the AIADMK’s ‘Two Leaves’ symbol.

Nilofer Kabil
Nilofer Kabil
T.P.M. Mohideen Khan
T.P.M. Mohideen Khan
K.S. Masthan
K.S. Masthan

The other members of the House are Labour Minister Nilofer Kabil, T.P.M. Mohideen Khan (DMK), K.A.M. Muhammad Abubacker (IUML) and K.S. Masthan (DMK).

Mr. Ansari urged the bigger parties such as the DMK, the AIADMK and the Congress to ensure adequate representation of the Muslim community in their list of candidates. “Though Muslims can be an influencing factor in up to 40 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, we cannot win those seats without the support of established political parties. Therefore, we need bigger parties to support us,” he says.

The lack of members from ‘Muslim parties’ in the State Assembly, save for the lone IUML MLA, Muhammad Abubacker from Kadaiyanallur, Muslim leaders think, might make it difficult for the community to let their grievances be heard in the Assembly.

“Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, which had two MLAs in 2011, was able to address the problems of the community. If you belong to the Dravidian parties, you might have to toe the line of the party leader and compromise on certain issues,” says M.H. Jawahirullah, leader, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, who was defeated in Ramanathapuram.

He says that Dravidian parties, which sometimes insist that smaller parties contest on their symbol, restrict the growth of the parties representing the minorities or depressed classes.

“In a genuinely good gesture this time, the DMK allotted 10 seats to the Muslim parties. They gave us a good representation. But unfortunately, we were not able to capitalise on it. I hope the DMK will speak for the community in the Assembly,” he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu /  Home> News> Cities> Chennai / Udhav Naig / Chennai – May 27th, 2016