Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, MP, has exposed his vulnerability within the party by staying away from voting on the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 (triple talaq Bill) in the Lok Sabha the other day.
Mr. Kunhalikutty has proved that he is neither infallible nor invincible a leader. The number of feathers he ruffled within the party as well as the Muslim community by missing the significant Parliament session was too many.
For the first time, Mr. Kunhalikutty drew criticism from the Shihab Thangal family of Panakkad. Although State president Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal sought an explanation from Mr. Kunhalikutty, his younger brother and party district president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal did not shy away from lambasting the party’s national leader.
Even while accepting the explanation given by Mr. Kunhalikutty, Mr. Hyderali Thangal issued a direct warning to all MPs, MLAs and local councillors of the party to exercise more caution in future. The language and tone of the Thangal communiqué has been interpreted as a criticism against and a veiled warning for Mr. Kunhalikutty.
By preferring a high-profile wedding of a close associate at Kalpakanchery to the crucial Lok Sabha session held on December 27, Mr. Kunhalikutty had embarrassed the leaders and cadres of his party, leaving them little defence against attackers such as Sunni groups, Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel, Indian National League, People’s Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party of India, and Jamaat-e-Islami.
The general feeling within a large section of the party cadres was that Mr. Kunhalikutty, who represents Malappuram in Parliament, betrayed his electorate by giving little importance to triple talaq.
Although the IUML had decided to stay with the Congress when they boycotted the voting on the triple talaq Bill, what made its secretary E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP, change that decision and vote against the Bill along with 10 other MPs remains hazy.
Mr. Basheer too had evoked a lot of criticism within the party for being abroad when Kerala was badly battered by the worst floods of the century in August. According to some party leaders, Mr. Basheer atoned for his ill-timed foreign visit by voting against the triple talaq Bill while his parliamentary party leader was dining with his NRI friends at the VIP wedding.