Lakshadweep can become India’s Maldives, but Islamists and Communists are protesting against it

The rising woke culture across the country has strengthened the left-liberals, Islamists, and communists to protest against every single welfare decision undertaken by the central authorities. Now, the usual suspects have trained their guns on Praful Patel, the newly appointed administrator of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep as he tries to make the necessary amends on the island to bring it in tune with the changing times.

The Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 (LDAR) introduced by Patel has been the bone of contention. Among the policies of the new administration that are being opposed are, banning candidates with more than 2 children from contesting Panchayat polls, the removal of illegal storage facilities along the coast, and the strict order to boat owners against leasing/renting their boats to individuals without proper permission from authorities.

CPIM leader and Rajya Sabha MP Elamanam Kareem, apparently miffed by the changes wrote a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind and urged him to recall the Lakshadweep administrator.

Malayali actor Prithviraj Sukumaran also joined the bandwagon and wrote a feature-length article on his Facebook feed to protest against the order.

https://www.facebook.com/PrithvirajSukumaran/posts/336591017833458

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also took to Twitter to earn his part of the pie and tooted his own horn.

“I first raised this issue on Feb 9, prompted by my ex-MP friend below. Today the protests have become a storm. The Govt has to intervene. We are destroying a peaceful part of the country where peace, communal harmony &cal reigned undisturbed. Stop the rot!”

As for the so-called ‘sympathisers’ protesting against the Goonda Act, citing anecdotal evidence that Lakshadweep inherently has been a low crime UT, there have been multiple reports stating the growing consumption of drugs and alcohol among the youth of the island.

After taking responsibility as the administrator of Lakshadweep in December 2020, Praful Patel had conducted 18 raids across the UT to fight the drug menace. Goonda Act was imposed in the UT keeping in mind the motto to completely shut the smuggling and distribution of alcohol and drugs. Anti-CAA/NRC posters placed by radical Islamist outfits were brought down throughout the Islands.

Using Lakshadweep’s unutilized tourism potential

The Maldives has emerged as one of the largest tourist hubs with its clear blue waters and mesmerising scenery attracting tourists by the heaps. However, India’s atolls in the Lakshadweep archipelago, which could be a viable alternative to the Maldives when it comes to attracting tourists, remain unutilized.

Its unfiltered beauty straddles the same vast marine mountain range as the Maldives and it is much cheaper to travel to Lakshadweep as compared to the Maldives.

Commenting on the dichotomy, Praful Patel remarked that his intention to develop Lakshadweep was to utilize its full potential. Terming public worry about their land being taken for developmental work as “misplaced and other people’s agenda”, Patel said, “nothing like this will happen”. “My only agenda is the development of Lakshadweep,” he said.

“Why is it that people are waiting to go to the Maldives, but are not even willing to come to Lakshadweep? It is to develop tourism and for long term benefits that we are introducing the LDAR.” Patel was quoted as saying by the Print.

Despite having a Muslim population of over 96 per cent of the total population on the island — the Islamist and communists wrongfully claim that Patel is trying to undermine the ‘Islamic character’ of Lakshadweep. Simply put, these armchair crusaders want the public of Lakshadweep to languish in a bygone era, amidst poverty and lack of opportunities. Patel dared to change that and in return, he has received a bucketful of hate and backlash.