SYED FIRDAUS ASHRAF: Praful K Patel, former minister of state for home in the Gujarat government headed by then chief minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, was appointed administrator of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in December 2020.

His appointment came after Lakshadweep`s then administrator Dineshwar Sharma, a former Intelligence Bureau officer who served as interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir, passed away.

Patel soon started taking measures which upset the local Muslim population of Lakshadweep that forms 97 per cent of the total population in the UnionTerritory.

So much so that Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem of the Communist Party of India-Marxist has written to President Ram Nath Kovind to recall Patel from his post.

"He (Patel) is doing everything against the culture of Lakshadweep, whose 99 per cent habitants are Muslims. And, therefore, people are objecting to these moves and things have come to a very frantic state now," Kareem tells Rediff.com`s Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

He is a hardcore RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh man and started his RSS activities in Lakshadweep by imposing the Goonda Act.

He has issued a notification banning cow slaughter. Worse, he has snatched away the jobs of casual workers (in government departments) of Lakshadweep.

This was the only source of livelihood for the people of Lakshadweep and that too has been snatched away.

There is no industry in Lakshadweep and it was a big source of employment to the local people.

He is also shifting operations away between Lakshadweep port and Calicut or Cochin airport to Mangalore airport in Karnataka.

He is doing everything against the culture of Lakshadweep, whose 99 per cent inhabitants are Muslims. And, therefore, people are objecting to these moves and things have come to a very frantic state now.

You mentioned cow slaughter, but it is banned in most states, isn`t it?

Lakshadweep has a 99 per cent Muslim population and no one here objects to anyone eating beef.

You cannot compare this to other parts of the country.

Cow slaughter is not banned in Kerala, so why ban it in Lakshadweep? It is also not banned all over the country and is allowed in many states which are not ruled by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party).

They want to change the culture of the Lakshadweep islands.

A majority of the population is Muslim and they have a connection with Kerala and not Karnataka. Now they (the government) want to change that.

Most of the people in Lakshadweep have families in Calicut or Cochin. Marriages happen and even for studies students from Lakshadweep travel to Cochin and Calicut.

Now he (Patel) wants to divert all these things to Mangalore in Karnataka which is ruled by the BJP.